English

Gauge-dependence of Scalar Induced Gravitational Waves

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2025-06-27 v2 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Abstract

In this review we look into the gauge-dependence of scalar-induced gravitational waves (SIGWs) that are second-order tensors produced by first-order scalar-modes. The method includes deriving the background, first- and second-order Einstein field equations without imposing a gauge. We address the gauge-invariant approach and study the source-term of SIGWs in three different gauges, synchronous, Poisson and uniform curvature gauge. We find that numerically computed kernels in all three gauges behave closely with minimal discrepancy. As expected, when going in sub-horizon modes, kτ1k\tau\gg1, the discrepancy decreases and the behavior matches, pointing to a gauge-invariant observable.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2503.00083,
  title  = {Gauge-dependence of Scalar Induced Gravitational Waves},
  author = {Anjali Abirami Kugarajh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.00083},
  year   = {2025}
}