Gravitational waves should permanently distort space-time
I read that whole article and all I came away with was, "Gravitational waves bend space time a little in a phenomenon called gravitational memory." I still have no idea by what mechanism though, other than guesses at some deeper super symmetry.<p>Can anyone dumb this down a little more for me? What holds on to the deformation? If spacetime can be deformed by a gravitational wave, then how can its original be entirely decided by the amount of and the arrangement of matter nearby. Meaning: if a wave passes by, unless it impacts the arrangement of matter in the locality, then what "holds" the deformation?