Journal Article

Probing the pre-BBN universe with gravitational waves from cosmic strings

Cui, Yanou, Morrissey, David E., Wells, James D., Lewicki, Marek

2019

Overview

A bstract Many motivated extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of cosmic strings. Gravitational waves originating from the dynamics of the resulting cosmic string network have the ability to probe many otherwise inaccessible properties of the early universe. In this study we show how the spectrum of gravitational waves from a cosmic string network can be used to test the equation of state of the early universe prior to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). We also demonstrate that current and planned gravitational wave detectors such as LIGO, LISA, DECIGO/BBO, and ET/CE have the potential to detect signals of a non-standard pre-BBN equation of state and evolution of the early universe (e.g., early non-standard matter domination or kination domination) or new degrees of freedom active in the early universe beyond the sensitivity of terrestrial collider experiments and cosmic microwave background measurements.

• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg,Springer Nature B.V,Springer Berlin,SpringerOpen
• Subject: Astronomical models / Beyond Standard Model / Big bang cosmology / Big Bang theory / Classical and Quantum Gravitation / CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS / Cosmic microwave background / Cosmology / Cosmology of Theories beyond the SM / Elementary Particles / Equations of state / Gravitation / Gravitational waves / High energy physics / Nuclear fusion / Nuclei (nuclear physics) / Physics / Physics and Astronomy / Quantum Field Theories / Quantum Field Theory / Quantum Physics / Regular Article - Theoretical Physics / Relativity Theory / String Theory / Strings / Universe