Séminaire / Seminar GReCO |
| « Stochastic gravitational wave background from preheating after inflation » |
|
J.-F. Dufaux |
|
The origin of matter in the universe from a decaying inflaton field is a basic feature of the inflationary paradigm. In many models, the first stage of this process, called preheating, is dominated by an explosive and non-perturbative production of highly inhomogeneous, non-thermal field fluctuations. These act in particular as a classical source for gravitational radiation. In this talk, I will first review some aspects of preheating and of the subsequent evolution of the inflaton decay products towards thermal equilibrium. I will then discuss the computation of the resulting background of gravitational waves. The corresponding spectrum has a much higher amplitude than the one generated during inflation, and it may fall into the range accessible for direct detection experiments (LIGO/VIRGO or BBO) if inflation occurs at a low enough energy scale. The discovery of such a background would open a new observational window into the dynamics of the very early universe. |
|
lundi 30 avril 2007 - 11:00 Salle des séminaires Évry Schatzman Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris |
| Pages web du séminaire / Seminar's webpage |