PreprintarXiv licencearXiv
How particle physics stops ultra-relativistic bubbles and shapes their gravitational waves
Abstract
The gravitational-wave spectrum produced by ultra-relativistic bubbles in a first-order cosmological phase transition can be approximated in terms of their energy density as a function of bubble size. Bubble collisions and post-collision classical evolution negligibly change it. The dominant energy loss is particle scattering, often in the Landau--Pomeranchuk--Migdal regime. So the GW spectrum depends on the particle-physics coupling (interpolating between the `envelope' and `bulk flow' limits), on the interaction type (gauge, Yukawa, scalar quartic, ...), and on whether particle number is conserved. Finally, we consider broken global symmetries, which give a mixture of `elastic' and `inelastic' collisions.
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BibTeX
@misc{strumia2026particle,
title = {{How particle physics stops ultra-relativistic bubbles and shapes their gravitational waves}},
author = {Alessandro Strumia},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.36160},
eprint = {2610.36160},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36160},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - How particle physics stops ultra-relativistic bubbles and shapes their gravitational waves
AU - Alessandro Strumia
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.36160
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36160
AB - The gravitational-wave spectrum produced by ultra-relativistic bubbles in a first-order cosmological phase transition can be approximated in terms of their energy density as a function of bubble size. Bubble collisions and post-collision classical evolution negligibly change it. The dominant energy loss is particle scattering, often in the Landau--Pomeranchuk--Migdal regime. So the GW spectrum depends on the particle-physics coupling (interpolating between the `envelope' and `bulk flow' limits), on the interaction type (gauge, Yukawa, scalar quartic, ...), and on whether particle number is conserved. Finally, we consider broken global symmetries, which give a mixture of `elastic' and `inelastic' collisions.
ER -