Abstract:
We consider colliding wave packets consisting of hybrid mixtures of electromagnetic, gravitational, and
scalar waves. Irrespective of the scalar field, the electromagnetic wave still reflects from the gravitational
wave. Some reflection processes are given for different choice of packets in which the Coulomb-like
component 2 vanishes. Exact solution for multiple reflection of an electromagnetic wave from
successive impulsive gravitational waves is obtained in a closed form. It is shown that a successive
sign flip in the Maxwell spinor arises as a result of encountering with an impulsive train (i.e. the Dirac’s
comb curvature) of gravitational waves. Such an observable effect may be helpful in the detection of
gravitational wave bursts.
