Polyakov loop contributions to the thermal effective potential soften electroweak phase transitions, disfavoring first-order transitions and suppressing gravitational-wave signals.
TransitionListener v2.0 -- Robust gravitational wave predictions for cosmological phase transitions
4 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
Gravitational wave backgrounds from strong first-order cosmological phase transitions are key observational targets predicted by many SM extensions and might be observed by current and future observatories like LISA, the Einstein Telescope or pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). Still, their precise forecast given a specific model remains a challenge. In this article, we present TransitionListener v2.0, a Python framework for precision studies of cosmological phase transitions and their associated gravitational wave (GW) signals. The code provides an end-to-end pipeline from a user-defined scalar potential to GW spectra and signal-to-noise ratios, enabling both benchmark studies and large-scale parameter scans. Version 2 introduces a self-consistent treatment of the transition dynamics, including the evolution of the true-vacuum fraction and its backreaction on the Hubble expansion, as well as a consistent description of reheating during percolation. A direct computation of the mean bubble separation allows to faithfully map to the GW spectral templates from bubble collisions, sound waves, and turbulence stemming from state-of-the-art simulations. TransitionListener includes built-in sensitivity curves for space- and ground-based detectors and PTAs, interfaces to PTA likelihoods, and wrappers for Bayesian model inference and high-dimensional parameter scans. Compared to existing public tools, TransitionListener v2.0 improves the physical consistency and numerical stability of GW predictions across a wide range of models, with particular emphasis on the strongly supercooled and ultraslow transition regime where conventional approximations break down and the most promising GW signals are expected.
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Precision study of dark sector phase transitions finds PTA-favored parameters near EFT breakdown with disfavored GW signals after higher-order corrections.
HydroGrav code computes self-similar fluid profiles and GW spectra using exact EOS from effective potentials for EWPT models, identifying parameter regions in a Z2 SM extension where simplified EOS differ in amplitude and shape, with LISA SNR estimates.
Radiative barriers in SUSY flat directions enable supercooled PTs yielding Ω_GW h² up to ~3e-10 for M_λ̃/v_X in 0.05-0.23, with the hidden sector also reproducing Ω_CDM h²=0.12 for m_q ~30-800 keV.
citing papers explorer
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Polyakov Loops Tame Phase Transitions
Polyakov loop contributions to the thermal effective potential soften electroweak phase transitions, disfavoring first-order transitions and suppressing gravitational-wave signals.
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A critical look at low-scale cosmological phase transitions in the PTA era
Precision study of dark sector phase transitions finds PTA-favored parameters near EFT breakdown with disfavored GW signals after higher-order corrections.
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HydroGrav: Precise hydrodynamics and gravitational waves for cosmological phase transitions
HydroGrav code computes self-similar fluid profiles and GW spectra using exact EOS from effective potentials for EWPT models, identifying parameter regions in a Z2 SM extension where simplified EOS differ in amplitude and shape, with LISA SNR estimates.
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Natural Supercooling and Reheating along Supersymmetric Flat Directions and Observable Gravitational Waves at the Einstein Telescope and the Cosmic Explorer
Radiative barriers in SUSY flat directions enable supercooled PTs yielding Ω_GW h² up to ~3e-10 for M_λ̃/v_X in 0.05-0.23, with the hidden sector also reproducing Ω_CDM h²=0.12 for m_q ~30-800 keV.