Probing the equation of state of the early Universe with pulsar timing arrays

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Liu, Lang, Chen, Zu-Cheng, Huang, Qing-Guo
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Liu, Lang
Chen, Zu-Cheng
Huang, Qing-Guo
author_facet Liu, Lang
Chen, Zu-Cheng
Huang, Qing-Guo
contents The recently released data by pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations have amassed substantial evidence corroborating the existence of a stochastic signal consistent with a gravitational-wave background at frequencies around the nanohertz regime. We investigate the situation in which the PTA signal originates from scalar-induced gravitational waves~(SIGWs), which serves as a valuable tool to probe the equation of state parameter $w$ during the Universe's early stages. The joint consideration of the PTA data from the NANOGrav 15-year data set, PPTA DR3, and EPTA DR2 yields that $w=0.60^{+0.32}_{-0.39}$ (median + $90\%$ credible interval), indicating a period of condensate domination at the production of SIGWs is allowed by the data. Moreover, the data also supports radiation domination ($w=1/3$) within the $90\%$ credible interval. We also impose an upper bound on the reheating temperature that $T_\mathrm{rh} \lesssim 0.2\,\mathrm{GeV}$ and the constraint on $w$ reveals valuable information on the inflationary potential and the dynamics at the end of inflation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2307_14911
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing the equation of state of the early Universe with pulsar timing arrays
Liu, Lang
Chen, Zu-Cheng
Huang, Qing-Guo
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
The recently released data by pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations have amassed substantial evidence corroborating the existence of a stochastic signal consistent with a gravitational-wave background at frequencies around the nanohertz regime. We investigate the situation in which the PTA signal originates from scalar-induced gravitational waves~(SIGWs), which serves as a valuable tool to probe the equation of state parameter $w$ during the Universe's early stages. The joint consideration of the PTA data from the NANOGrav 15-year data set, PPTA DR3, and EPTA DR2 yields that $w=0.60^{+0.32}_{-0.39}$ (median + $90\%$ credible interval), indicating a period of condensate domination at the production of SIGWs is allowed by the data. Moreover, the data also supports radiation domination ($w=1/3$) within the $90\%$ credible interval. We also impose an upper bound on the reheating temperature that $T_\mathrm{rh} \lesssim 0.2\,\mathrm{GeV}$ and the constraint on $w$ reveals valuable information on the inflationary potential and the dynamics at the end of inflation.
title Probing the equation of state of the early Universe with pulsar timing arrays
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.14911