Related papers: Primordial gravitational waves : a probe of the ea…
Gravitational waves are a unique probe of the early Universe, as the Universe is transparent to gravitational radiation right back to the end of inflation. In this article, we summarise detection prospects and the wide scope of primordial…
Gravitational waves (GWs) have a great potential to probe cosmology. We review early universe sources that can lead to cosmological backgrounds of GWs. We begin by presenting definitions of GWs in flat space-time and in a cosmological…
The observation of primordial gravitational waves could provide a new and unique window on the earliest moments in the history of the universe, and on possible new physics at energies many orders of magnitude beyond those accessible at…
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…
Gravitational waves (GW) can constitute a unique probe of the primordial universe. In many cases, the characteristic frequency of the emitted GW is directly related to the energy scale at which the GW source is operating in the early…
We summarise the physics of first-order phase transitions in the early universe, and the possible ways in which they might come about. We then focus on gravitational waves, emphasising general qualitative features of stochastic backgrounds…
Gravitational waves (GWs) originating from cosmological sources offer direct insights into the physics of the primordial Universe, the fundamental nature of gravity, and the cosmic expansion of the Universe. In this review paper, we present…
The production of a stochastic background of gravitational waves is a fundamental prediction of any cosmological inflationary model. The features of such a signal encode unique information about the physics of the Early Universe and beyond,…
Gravitational-wave experiments with interferometers and with resonant masses can search for stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves of cosmological origin. We review both experimental and theoretical aspects of the search for these…
The recent claim by BICEP2 of evidence for primordial gravitational waves from inflation has focused interest on the potential for early-Universe cosmology using observations of gravitational waves. In addition to cosmic microwave…
Phase transitions in the early universe can readily create an observable stochastic gravitational wave background. We show that such a background necessarily contains anisotropies analogous to those of the cosmic microwave background (CMB)…
Primordial Gravitational Waves are the next target of modern cosmology. They represent a window on the early Universe and the only probe of the physics and microphysics of the inflationary period. When the production of GWs happens in…
Primordial gravitational waves are a crucial prediction of inflation theory, and their detection through their imprints on the cosmic microwave background is actively being pursued. However, these attempts have not yet been successful. In…
Detection of a gravitational-wave signal of non-astrophysical origin would be a landmark discovery, potentially providing a significant clue to some of our most basic, big-picture scientific questions about the Universe. In this white…
First order phase transitions in the early Universe generate gravitational waves, which may be observable in future space-based gravitational wave observatiories, e.g. the European eLISA satellite constellation. The gravitational waves…
Gravitational-wave astronomy will soon become a new tool for observing the Universe. Detecting and interpreting gravitational waves will require deep theoretical insights into astronomical sources. The past three decades have seen…
We review cosmological backgrounds of gravitational waves with a particular attention to the scientific potential of the eLISA/NGO mission. After an overview of cosmological backgrounds and detectors, we consider different cosmological…
With the advanced gravitational wave detectors coming on line in the next 5 years, we expect to make the first detections of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources, and study the properties of the waves themselves as tests of…
A stochastic background of gravitational waves can be created by the superposition of a large number of independent sources. The physical processes occurring at the earliest moments of the universe certainly created a stochastic background…
We discuss the gravitational wave background generated by primordial density perturbations evolving during the radiation era. At second-order in a perturbative expansion, density fluctuations produce gravitational waves. We calculate the…