Using pulsar timing arrays and the quantum normalization condition to constrain relic gravitational waves

DOI10.1088/0264-9381/31/3/035001zbMATH Open1470.83064arXiv1311.7192OpenAlexW3104026438MaRDI QIDQ5407860FDOQ5407860

Authors: Minglei Tong, Wen Zhao, Linzhong Liu, Cheng-Shi Zhao, Tinggao Yang, Y. Zhang 

Publication date: 8 April 2014

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: In the non-standard model of relic gravitational waves (RGWs) generated in the early universe, the theoretical spectrum of is mainly described by an amplitude $r$ and a spectral index $$, the latter usually being determined by the slope of the inflation potential. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) data have imposed constraints on the amplitude of strain spectrum for a power-law form as a phenomenological model. Applying these constraints to a generic, theoretical spectrum with $r$ and $$ as independent parameters, we convert the PTAs constraint into an upper bound on the index $$, which turns out to be less stringent than those upper bounds from BBN, CMB, and LIGO/VIRGO, respectively. Moreover, it is found that PTAs constrain the non-standard RGWs more stringent than the standard RGWs. If the condition of the quantum normalization is imposed upon a theoretical spectrum of RGWs, $r$ and $$ become related. With this condition, a minimum requirement of the horizon size during inflation is greater than the Planck length results in an upper bound on $$, which is comparable in magnitude to that by PTAs. When both PTAs and the quantum normalization are applied to a theoretical spectrum of RGWs, constraints can be obtained for other cosmic processes of the early universe, such as the reheating, a process less understood observationally so far. The resulting constraint is consistent with the slow-roll, massive scalar inflation model. The future SKA will be able to constrain RGWs further and might even detect RGWs, rendering an important probe to the very early universe.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1311.7192

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zbMATH Keywords

relic gravitational waves in cosmology

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Galactic and stellar dynamics (85A05) Perturbative methods of renormalization applied to problems in quantum field theory (81T15) Methods of quantum field theory in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C47) Relativistic cosmology (83F05) Observational and experimental questions in relativity and gravitational theory (83B05) Gravitational waves (83C35)

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• Cosmological constraints on the amplitude of relic gravitational waves
• Relic gravitational waves in the frame of slow-roll inflation with a power-law potential, and their detection
• The refractive index of relic gravitons
• The international pulsar timing array: a galactic scale gravitational wave observatory
• Adiabatic regularization of power spectrum and stress tensor of relic gravitational wave without low-frequency distortion
• Constraining spacetime deformation based on astrophysical observations from radio pulsars
• Model-independent comparisons of pulsar timings to scalar–tensor gravity
• Dark energy, D-branes and pulsar timing arrays

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