Gravitational waves from first-order cosmological phase transitions: lifetime of the sound wave source

TY - JOUR

T1 - Gravitational waves from first-order cosmological phase transitions

T2 - lifetime of the sound wave source

AU - Ellis, John

AU - Lewicki, Marek

AU - No, José Miguel

PY - 2020/7

Y1 - 2020/7

N2 - We survey systematically the general parametrisations of particle-physics models for a first-order phase transition in the early universe, including models with polynomial potentials both with and without barriers at zero temperature, and Coleman-Weinberg-like models with potentials that are classically scale-invariant. We distinguish three possibilities for the transition - detonations, deflagrations and hybrids - and consider sound waves and turbulent mechanisms for generating gravitational waves during the transitions in these models, checking in each case the requirement for successful percolation. We argue that in models without a zero-temperature barrier and in scale-invariant models the period during which sound waves generate gravitational waves lasts only for a fraction of a Hubble time after a generic first-order cosmological phase transition, whereas it may last longer in some models with a zero-temperature barrier that feature severe supercooling. We illustrate the implications of these results for future gravitational-wave experiments.

AB - We survey systematically the general parametrisations of particle-physics models for a first-order phase transition in the early universe, including models with polynomial potentials both with and without barriers at zero temperature, and Coleman-Weinberg-like models with potentials that are classically scale-invariant. We distinguish three possibilities for the transition - detonations, deflagrations and hybrids - and consider sound waves and turbulent mechanisms for generating gravitational waves during the transitions in these models, checking in each case the requirement for successful percolation. We argue that in models without a zero-temperature barrier and in scale-invariant models the period during which sound waves generate gravitational waves lasts only for a fraction of a Hubble time after a generic first-order cosmological phase transition, whereas it may last longer in some models with a zero-temperature barrier that feature severe supercooling. We illustrate the implications of these results for future gravitational-wave experiments.

KW - cosmological phase transitions

KW - physics of the early universe

KW - primordial gravitational waves (theory)

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089543928&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1088/1475-7516/2020/07/050

DO - 10.1088/1475-7516/2020/07/050

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85089543928

SN - 1475-7516

VL - 2020

JO - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

JF - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

IS - 7

M1 - 050

ER -