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◆ Physical Review Letters2026-05-18· Crust

Thick Lunar Crust Amplifies Deci-Hertz Gravitational-Wave Signals

Lei Zhang, Han Yan, Xian Chen, Jinhai Zhang

原始摘要(英文原文)· Original abstract
Gravitational waves (GWs) in the 0.01∼1 Hz band encode unique signatures of the early Universe and merging compact objects, but they are beyond the reach of existing observatories. Theoretical models suggest that the Moon could act as a resonant detector, but the unknown influence of its rugged surface and heterogeneous interior poses a challenge to the accurate modeling of its response. Here, we address this long-standing uncertainty by constructing the first high-resolution, two-dimensional model of the lunar GW response, more realistic than previous ones. We achieve this by combining high-fidelity spectral-element simulations with the analytical power of normal-mode perturbation theory, thereby resolving topographical effects down to 2 km grid spacing while maintaining the capacity to discern global free-oscillation patterns. This dual-methodology approach not only recovers the expected predominant quadrupole (l=2) oscillation mode, but also exposes a systematic signal amplification in thick-crust regions. This enhancement is traced by our normal-mode analysis to a mode-coupling process, in which the original quadrupolar oscillation induced by the passing GW distributes energy into a series of higher-order modes, the hybridized eigenmodes of a laterally heterogeneous Moon. In certain narrow frequency ranges, we observe up to tenfold amplification spanning into the deci-hertz band, highlighting the power of numerical simulations in resolving these structurally fine-tuned features for designing future detectors. Our Letter establishes the Moon as a resonant GW detector albeit its complex topographical structures, and the resulting amplification maps provide a quantitative guide for the optimal landing site selection.
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Thick Lunar Crust Amplifies Deci-Hertz Gravitational-Wave Signals — 科研速览 Science Skim