Hearing without seeing: gravitational waves from hot and cold hidden sectors

• DOI: 10.1007/jhep07(2019)044
• Publication Date: 2019-07-11T13:48:57Z
• Authors: Malcolm Fairbairn; Edward Hardy; Alastair Wickens
• Keywords: Hidden sector; Gravitational wave background

A bstract We study the spectrum of gravitational waves produced by a first order phase transition in hidden sector that is colder than visible sector. In this scenario, bubbles vacuum can be nucleated through either thermal fluctuations or quantum tunnelling. If cold undergoes thermally induced transition, amplitude wave signal will suppressed and its peak frequency shifted compared to if temperatures were equal. This could lead signals range would otherwise ruled out constraints from big bang nucleosynthesis. Alternatively, sufficiently fail undergo subsequently nucleation case bubble walls might accelerate with completely negligible friction. The resulting has characteristic dependence, which may allow such sectors distinguished models are similar. compare our results sensitivity future experimental programme.