Characterize correlations between induced and pre-existing stochastic forces

Determine the statistical correlations between the induced-wake force fluctuations generated by the binary and the direct gravitational force produced by the pre-existing scalar-field interference pattern.

Background

The paper distinguishes the induced wake from the direct gravitational force of pre-existing interference granules in the scalar background. It computes fluctuations of the induced wake but does not combine them statistically with the direct interference-pattern force.

A complete stochastic description of the binary's dynamics requires determining whether these two force components are correlated and how such correlations modify orbital diffusion, drift, and waveform predictions.

References

A complete stochastic description must also combine the induced-wake fluctuations studied in this work with the direct gravitational force of the pre-existing interference pattern. Statistical correlations between the two forces is likely to occur, and this is presently unexplored.

— Dynamical Friction in an Ultralight Scalar Medium across Coherent and Stochastic Regimes  (2609.28641 - Mitra et al., 23 Sep 2026) in Section 6, Discussion and conclusions