Gravitational Waves Offer Insights into the Universe's First Second

Researchers Rishav Roshan and Graham White have explored the potential of using gravitational waves to probe the early Universe, specifically the first second after the Big Bang. Their paper, titled 'Using gravitational waves to see the first second of the Universe,' discusses the detection prospects and the wide range of primordial events that could lead to a detectable stochastic gravitational wave background. This background could provide insights into phenomena beyond the Standard Model at very high energy scales.

The study outlines various strategies for detecting a stochastic gravitational wave background and delves into three major primordial events that could generate such a background. Additionally, the researchers summarize other potential sources of primordial gravitational wave backgrounds. The ability to detect these waves could significantly enhance our understanding of the early Universe and the fundamental forces at play during its formation.

The findings are detailed in the paper available on arXiv with the identifier arXiv:2401.04388.