INTERFEROMETER RESPONSE TO SCALAR GRAVITATIONAL WAVES

It was recently suggested that the magnetic component of gravitational waves (GWs) is relevant in the evaluation of frequency response functions of gravitational interferometers. In this paper we extend the analysis to the magnetic component of the scalar mode of GWs which arises from scalar-tensor gravity theory. In the low frequency approximation, the response function of ground-based interferometers is calculated. The angular dependence of the electric and magnetic contributions on the response function is discussed. Finally, for an arbitrary frequency range, the proper distance between two test masses is calculated and its usefulness in the high frequency limit for space-based interferometers is briefly considered.