Constraining primordial curvature perturbations with present and future GW detectors
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics2025-05-30v1High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaGeneral Relativity and Quantum CosmologyHigh Energy Physics - PhenomenologyHigh Energy Physics - Theory
Primordial scalar curvature perturbations (ζ), typically probed on large cosmological scales via CMB and LSS observations, can be significantly enhanced on smaller scales by various early Universe mechanisms, for instance, non-minimal inflationary models. While decoupled at linear order, scalar and tensor perturbations, i.e., Gravitational Waves (GWs), interact at second order. As a consequence, an enhanced primordial scalar power spectrum Pζ(k) can source a sizable stochastic GW background (SGWB). In these proceedings, we briefly review the generation mechanism of such signals, typically referred to as scalar-induced GWs (SIGWs), and discuss the prospects of measuring them with present and future Pulsar Timing Arrays datasets and future GW observatories like the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna LISA.