A novel gravitational wave observatory configuration—Tetrahedron Constellation Gravitational Wave Observatory (TEGO)

The design of TEGO breaks through the limitations of existing triangular planar structure space gravitational wave observation projects, such as LISA. The three-dimensional tetrahedral structure formed by the four spacecraft not only adds an extra spacecraft and corresponding laser telescope for redundancy but also creates a stable center of mass, greatly enhancing the configuration's stability and reliability. Moreover, TEGO's six laser links are simultaneously sensitive to six polarization modes of gravitational waves, enabling more effective detection of modes beyond GR predictions, such as scalar longitudinal modes.

By employing advanced Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) technology, TEGO can effectively suppress laser frequency noise, thereby improving the sensitivity to gravitational wave signals. Additionally, TEGO's design allows for maximizing the response amplitude of gravitational wave polarization modes at different orbital positions, providing greater flexibility and possibilities for future gravitational wave detection.

The innovative design of TEGO offers more degrees of freedom for extracting gravitational wave polarization modes and is expected to play a significant role in future gravitational wave detection. Hong-Bo Jin, the author of paper from at the National Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated: "Detecting gravitational waves based on the TEGO configuration will possibly reveal more polarization modes of gravitational waves, which is conducive to deepening the understanding of General Relativity and revealing the essence of gravity and spacetime."

Cong-Feng Qiao, the author of paper from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, added: "The proposal of TEGO not only demonstrates China's innovative capability in the field of gravitational wave detection but also provides new possibilities for future space science missions."

More details about TEGO, including its orbital design, Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) system, and polarization response analysis of the GW signal model for the specific white dwarf binary system J0806, are elaborated in the paper. This achievement not only marks a new progress for China in the field of gravitational wave detection but also provides the global scientific community with a new gravitational wave observatory.

The research was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Basic Research Fund of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.