Gravitational wave generation from bubble collisions in first-order phase transitions: An analytic approach

Chiara Caprini, Ruth Durrer, and Géraldine Servant
Phys. Rev. D 77, 124015 – Published 11 June 2008

Abstract

Gravitational wave production from bubble collisions was calculated in the early 1990s using numerical simulations. In this paper, we present an alternative analytic estimate, relying on a different treatment of stochasticity. In our approach, we provide a model for the bubble velocity power spectrum, suitable for both detonations and deflagrations. From this, we derive the anisotropic stress and analytically solve the gravitational wave equation. We provide analytical formulas for the peak frequency and the shape of the spectrum which we compare with numerical estimates. In contrast to the previous analysis, we do not work in the envelope approximation. This paper focuses on a particular source of gravitational waves from phase transitions. In a companion article, we will add together the different sources of gravitational wave signals from phase transitions: bubble collisions, turbulence and magnetic fields and discuss the prospects for probing the electroweak phase transition at LISA.

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  • Received 27 November 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.77.124015

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Chiara Caprini1,2,*, Ruth Durrer1,†, and Géraldine Servant2,3,‡

  • 1Département de Physique Théorique, Université de Genève, 24 Quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève, Switzerland
  • 2Service de Physique Théorique, CEA Saclay, F91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 3Physics Department, Theory Division, CERN, CH-1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland

  • *chiara.caprini@cea.fr
  • Ruth.Durrer@physics.unige.ch
  • geraldine.servant@cern.ch

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Issue

Vol. 77, Iss. 12 — 15 June 2008

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