Testing Superstring Theories with Gravitational Waves
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2011-10-25 v3 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Abstract
We provide a simple transfer function that determines the effect of an early matter dominated era on the gravitational wave background and show that a large class of compactifications of superstring theory might be tested by observations of the gravitational wave background from inflation. For large enough reheating temperatures the test applies to all models containing at least one scalar with mass that acquires a large initial oscillation amplitude after inflation and has only gravitational interaction strength, i.e., a field with the typical properties of a modulus.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1105.5283,
title = {Testing Superstring Theories with Gravitational Waves},
author = {Ruth Durrer and Jasper Hasenkamp},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1105.5283},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
5 pages 2 figures, v2: changes in presentation, refs revised, matches version in print in PRD