Gravitational Wave Sources from New Physics

Abstract

Forthcoming advances in direct gravitational wave detection from kilohertz to nanohertz frequencies have unique capabilities to detect signatures from or set meaningful constraints on a wide range of new cosmological phenomena and new fundamental physics. A brief survey is presented of the post-inflationary gravitational radiation backgrounds predicted in cosmologies that include intense new classical sources such as first-order phase transitions, late-ending inflation, and dynamically active mesoscopic extra dimensions. LISA will provide the most sensitive direct probes of such phenomena near TeV energies or Terascale. LISA will also deeply probe the broadband background, and possibly bursts, from loops of cosmic superstrings predicted to form in current models of brane inflation.

11 pages, Latex, 4 figures, invited talk at Sixth International LISA Symposium