Direct detection of the inflationary gravitational wave background

We study the implications of recent indications for a red spectrum of primordial density perturbations for the detection of inflationary gravitational waves (IGWs) with forthcoming cosmic microwave background experiments. We find that if inflation occurs with a single field with an inflaton potential minimized at V=0, then Planck will be able to detect IGWs at better than 2$\sigma$ confidence level, unless the inflaton potential is a power law with a very weak power. The prop...

By releasing a formula that directly connects the average amplitude of the relic stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) with the Inflaton field and the equation for the characteristic amplitude h_c for the relic SGWB, in this paper the upper bounds on the relic SGWB from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration (LSC) data are translated in lower bounds on the Inflaton f...

We explore the ability of experimental physics to uncover the underlying structure of the gravitational Lagrangian describing inflation. While the observable degeneracy of the inflationary parameter space is large, future measurements of observables beyond the adiabatic and tensor two-point functions, such as non-Gaussianity or isocurvature modes, might reduce this degeneracy. We show that even in the absence of such observables, the range of possible inflaton potentials can ...

In the light of the recent results concerning CMB observations and GW detection we address the question of whether it is possible, in a self-consistent inflationary framework, to simultaneously generate a spectrum of scalar metric perturbations in agreement with Planck data and a stochastic background of primordial gravitational radiation compatible with the design sensitivity of aLIGO/Virgo and/or eLISA. We suggest that this is possible in a string cosmology context, for a w...

The stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) offers a new opportunity to observe signals of primordial features from inflationary models. We study their detectability with future space-based gravitational waves experiments, focusing our analysis on the frequency range of the LISA mission. We compute gravitational wave spectra from primordial features by exploring the parameter space of a two-field inflation model capable of generating different classes of features. Fin...

Physical scenarios, leading to highly energetic stochastic gravitational waves backgrounds (for frequencies ranging from the $\mu$Hz up to the GHz) are examined. In some cases the typical amplitude of the logarithmic energy spectrum can be even eight orders of magnitude larger than the ordinary inflationary prediction. Scaling violations in the frequency dependence of the energy density of the produced gravitons are discussed.

In this paper we first present a complete classification of gravitational waves according to their frequencies: (i) Ultra high frequency band (above 1 THz); (ii) Very high frequency band (100 kHz - 1 THz); (iii) High frequency band (10 Hz - 100 kHz); (iv) Middle frequency band (0.1 Hz - 10 Hz); (v) Low frequency band (100 nHz - 0.1 Hz); (vi) Very low frequency band (300 pHz - 100 nHz); (vii) Ultra low frequency band (10 fHz - 300 pHz); (viii) Hubble (extremely low) frequency ...

The next generation of gravitational wave detectors holds out the prospect of detecting a stochastic gravitational background generated in the very early universe. In this article, 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, ...

We compute energy density and strain induced by a primordial spectrum of gravitational waves on terrestrial- and space-based detectors (e.g., LIGO) as constrained by the COBE detection of microwave background anisotropy. For the case where the spectrum is created during inflation, we find new, stricter upper bounds on the induced strain, making detection unlikely. However, detectors might be useful for discovering (or ruling out) exotic, non-inflationary sources.

Inflation predicts specific relations between the amplitudes and spectral indices of the primordial spectrum of density (scalar metric) perturbations and gravitational waves (tensor metric perturbations). Detection of a stochastic gravitational-wave background is essential for identifying this unmistakable signature. Polarization of the cosmic microwave background can isolate these tensor modes in a model-independent way and thereby circumvent the cosmic-variance limit to det...