Constraints on primordial gravitational waves from the cosmic microwave background

Clarke, Thomas J.; Copeland, Edmund J.; Moss, Adam

Abstract

Searches for primordial gravitational waves have resulted in constraints in a large frequency range from a variety of sources. The standard Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) technique is to parameterise the tensor power spectrum in terms of the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, and spectral index, nt, and constrain these using measurements of the temperature and polarization power spectra. Another method, applicable to modes well inside the cosmological horizon at recombination, uses the shortwave approximation, under which gravitational waves behave as an effective neutrino species. In this paper we give model-independent CMB constraints on the energy density of gravitational waves, Ωgw h2, for the entire range of observable frequencies. On large scales, f 10−16 Hz, we reconstruct the initial tensor power spectrum in logarithmic frequency bins, finding maximal sensitivity for scales close to the horizon size at recombination. On small scales, f 10−15 Hz, we use the shortwave approximation, finding Ωgw h2 < 1.7 ×10−6 for adiabatic initial conditions and Ωgw h2 < 2.9 ×10−7 for homogeneous initial conditions (both 2σ upper limits). For scales close to the horizon size at recombination, we use second-order perturbation theory to calculate the back-reaction from gravitational waves, finding Ωgw h2 < 8.4 ×10−7, in the absence of neutrino anisotropic stress and Ωgw h2 < 8.6 ×10−7 when including neutrino anisotropic stress. These constraints are valid for 10−15 Hz f 3 × 10−16 Hz.

Citation

Clarke, T. J., Copeland, E. J., & Moss, A. (2020). Constraints on primordial gravitational waves from the cosmic microwave background. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2020(10), Article 002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2020/10/002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 2, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 1, 2020
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 2, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-7516
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2020
• Issue: 10
• Article Number: 002
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2020/10/002
• Keywords: Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4948958
• Publisher URL: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1475-7516/2020/10/002
• Additional Information: This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1475-7516/2020/10/002