Primordial gravitational waves in the nano-Hertz regime and PTA data -- towards solving the GW inverse problem

Abstract

In recent years, several pulsar timing array collaborations have reported first hints for a stochastic gravitational wave background at nano-Hertz frequencies. Here we elaborate on the possibility that this signal comes from new physics that leads to the generation of a primordial stochastic gravitational wave background. We propose a set of simple but concrete models that can serve as benchmarks for gravitational waves sourced by cosmological phase transitions, domain wall networks, cosmic strings, axion dynamics, or large scalar fluctuations. These models are then confronted with pulsar timing data and with cosmological constraints. With only a limited number of free parameters per model, we are able to identify viable regions of parameter space and also make predictions for future astrophysical and laboratory tests that can help with model identification and discrimination.

26 pages + appendix, 17 figures; v3: references added; v4: minor changes, published version

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• The nanohertz stochastic gravitational wave background from cosmic string loops and the abundant high redshift massive galaxies
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• Implications for the Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from the NANOGrav 15-year Data Set
• Implications of Pulsar Timing Array Data for Scalar-Induced Gravitational Waves and Primordial Black Holes: Primordial Non-Gaussianity $f_{\mathrm{NL}}$ Considered
• Nano-Hertz gravitational waves from collapsing domain walls associated with freeze-in dark matter in light of pulsar timing array observations
• Gravitational waves from first-order phase transitions in LISA: reconstruction pipeline and physics interpretation
• Supercooling in Radiative Symmetry Breaking: Theory Extensions, Gravitational Wave Detection and Primordial Black Holes
• Can supercooled phase transitions explain the gravitational wave background observed by pulsar timing arrays?
• QCD-Collapsed Domain Walls: QCD Phase Transition and Gravitational Wave Spectroscopy
• NANOGrav spectral index $\gamma =3$ from melting domain walls
• Cosmological Interpretation for the Stochastic Signal in Pulsar Timing Arrays
• Implications of Nano-Hertz Gravitational Waves on Electroweak Phase Transition in the Singlet Dark Matter Model
• Did we hear the sound of the Universe boiling? Analysis using the full fluid velocity profiles and NANOGrav 15-year data
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• Large fluctuations and Primordial Black Holes
• Enhancement of gravitational waves at Q-ball decay including non-linear density perturbations
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• Testing strengths, limitations and biases of current Pulsar Timing Arrays detection analyses on realistic data
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• Fast Likelihood-free Reconstruction of Gravitational Wave Backgrounds
• Sub-GeV dark matter and nano-Hertz gravitational waves from a classically conformal dark sector
• Signals of merging supermassive primordial black holes in pulsar timing arrays
• Implications of Pulsar Timing Array Results for High Frequency Gravitational Waves
• Dark Matter Spike surrounding Supermassive Black Holes Binary and the Nanohertz Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background
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• Non-Abelian Domain Walls and Gravitational Waves
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