ec 2 00 3 Storage rings as detectors for cosmic gravitational – wave background ?

We argue that storage rings can be used for the detection of low–frequency gravitational–wave background. Proceeding from the measurements by Schin Daté and Noritaka Kumagai (Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A421, 417 (1999)) and Masaru Takao and Taihei Shimada (Proceedings of EPAC 2000, Vienna, 2000, p.1572) of variations of the machine circumference of the SPring–8 storage ring we explain the systematic shrinkage of the machine circumference by the influence of the cosmic low–frequency gravitational–wave background. We give arguments against a possibility to explain the observed shrinkage of the machine circumference of the SPring–8 storage ring by tectonic diastrophic forces. We show that the forces, related to the stiffness of the physical structures, governing the path of the beam, can be neglected for the analysis of the shrinkage of the machine circumference caused by the relic gravitational–wave background. In addition to the shrinkage of the machine circumference of the storage ring we predict a steady rotation of the storage ring around the center. PACS: 04.30 Nk, 04.80 Nn E–mail: [email protected], Tel.: +43–1–58801–14261, Fax: +43–1–58801–14299 Permanent Address: State Polytechnical University, Department of Nuclear Physics, 195251 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation E–mail: [email protected] and [email protected] Permanent Address: Bogoliubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, 03143, Kiev and Physical and Technical National University KPI, Prospect Pobedy 37, 03056, Kiev, Ukraine