2025/07/13 by Li, Jun, Guo, Guang-Hai, Zu, Yongcan
#Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2507.09552
Gravitational wave astronomy presents a promising opportunity to directly observe scalar-induced gravitational waves originating from the early universe. Future experiments, including ground-based interferometers like LIGO and Virgo, the Pulsar Timing Array, and telescopes such as FAST and SKA, are poised to significantly enhance sensitivity to these gravitational waves. In this paper, we combined Cosmic Microwave Background data with upper or lower limits of the stochastic gravitational wave background provided by FAST or SKA, to constrain scalar-induced gravitational waves. To provide a comprehensive forecast, we consider two scenarios: one where FAST or SKA does not detect scalar-induced gravitational waves, thereby setting an upper limit on the fractional energy density; and another where these waves are detected successfully, thus establishing a lower limit on the fractional energy density. In the ΛCDM+r model, the scalar spectral index of the power-law power spectrum is constrained to ns=0.9589+0.0021-0.0011 from the combinations of CMB+BAO+SKA datasets in the upper limit scenario where scalar-induced gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light. The constraint shifts to ns = 0.9661+0.0027-0.0039 in the lower limit scenario. Comparing with the constraint from the combinations of CMB+BAO datasets, the scalar spectral index ns exhibits significant changes, which could serve as an indicator for detecting scalar-induced gravitational waves. In the ΛCDM+αs+r model and the ΛCDM+αs+βs+r model, the running of the scalar spectral index αs and the running of the running of the scalar spectral index βs also show notable variations, suggesting potential indicators. The numerical findings clearly demonstrate the impact of the upper and lower limits provided by FAST or SKA.