TITLE:
Observation of Background Gravitational Waves
AUTHORS:
Boris Zhilyaev, Irina Verlyuk, Vladimir Petuknov
KEYWORDS:
Observational, Photometric, Stars, Planets, Gravitational Waves
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of High Energy Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology,
Vol.12 No.4,
October
12,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: We report the discovery of a new phenomenon: high-frequency oscillations (HFO) in the brightness of stars and planets. These were detected during an international campaign to observe variable stars. It was noted that changes in stellar brightness are accompanied by movements in the positions of stars (SIM) in the focal plane of the telescopes. An overview of the observations related to HFO and SIM is provided below. Methods: The HFO and SIM data were obtained using a 2-metre Ritchey-Chretien telescope on Mount Terskol in the North Caucasus and a 50-inch reflector at the Crimean Observatory. Results: HFO activity manifests itself as bursts of signal intensity with an effective pulse duration of seconds and a frequency of several events per minute. The amplitudes of SIM motion can be estimated at between a few hundredths and a few tenths of an arc second, and their speed at up to a few hundredths of an arc second per second. The SIM light curves show the elliptical orbits of the reference star. Discussion: Monitoring of planets from several observation sites using two telescopes situated at a considerable distance from one another has provided us with compelling evidence of correlated fluctuations in brightness. Different objects observed at different locations exhibit the same periodicity. During the monitoring, fluctuations with identical frequencies and amplitudes, expressed in thousandths, were identified. Furthermore, it was established that these harmonics coincide in amplitude, frequency, and phase. It was noted that variations in stellar brightness are accompanied by shifts in the positions of stars in the focal plane of telescopes. The amplitudes of SIM motion can be estimated at between a few hundredths and a few tenths of an arc second, and their speed at up to a few hundredths of an arc second per second. The SIM light curves show the elliptical orbits of the reference star. Conclusions: A promising hypothesis is that SIM phenomena are caused by gravitational waves: 1) gravitational waves cause a change in the path length of light, leading to periodic fluctuations in brightness; 2) gravitational waves distort the geodesic lines along which light travels, altering its direction. Observations of HFO and SIM phenomena confirm the existence of background gravitational waves.