Cui Y, Saha P, Sfakianakis EI. Gravitational Wave Symphony from Oscillating Spectator Scalar Fields.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024;
133:021004. [PMID:
39073926 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.133.021004]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
We investigate a generic source of stochastic gravitational wave background due to the parametric resonance of oscillating scalar fields in the early Universe. By systematically analyzing benchmark models through lattice simulations and considering a wide range of parameters, we demonstrate that such a scenario can lead to detectable signals in gravitational wave detectors over a broad frequency range and potentially address the recent findings by pulsar timing array experiments. Furthermore, these models naturally yield ultralight dark matter candidates or dark radiation detectable by cosmic microwave background observatories.
Collapse