1996/10/24 by R. A. Battye, R A Battye, E. P. S. Shellard +1 · 8 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #COSMIC cancer database #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Electroweak interaction #Gravitational energy #Gravitational wave #Gravitational wave background #Inflation (cosmology) #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Phase transition #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/13/11a/032
published in Classical and Quantum Gravity 13(11A), A239-A246 (IOP Publishing) · review article for proceedings of `Fundamental physics in space' conference Oct 95, 9 pages, single postscript file, also available at http://euclid.tp.ph.ic.ac.uk/
arxiv created 1996/10/24 · openalex publication_date 1996/11/01 · arxiv updated 2010/04/06 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
The next generation of gravitational-wave detectors holds out the prospect of detecting a stochastic gravitational-wave background generated in the very early Universe. In this paper, we review the various cosmological processes which can lead to such a background, including quantum fluctuations during inflation, bubble collisions in a first-order phase transition and the decay of a network of cosmic strings. We conclude that signals from strongly first-order phase transitions, possibly at the end of inflation, and networks of local cosmic strings are within the sensitivity of the proposed detectors. However, backgrounds from standard slow-roll inflation and the electroweak phase transition are too weak.