Gravitational wave signals from leptoquark-induced first-order electroweak phase transitions

Abstract

We consider the extension of the Standard Model (SM) with scalar leptoquarks in SU(2) singlet, doublet and triplet representations. Through the coupling between leptoquark and the SM Higgs field, the electroweak phase transition (EWPT) can turn into first-order and consequently produce gravitational wave signals. We compute the required value of the leptoquark-Higgs for first-order EWPT to happen and discuss about the possible constraint from Higgs phenomenology. Choosing some benchmarks, we present the strength of the gravitational waves produced during the leptoquark-induced first-order EWPT and compare them to detector sensitivities. We find that the SU(2) representations of the leptoquark can be distinguished by gravitational waves in the parameter space where first-order EWPT can happen as a function of the Higgs portal coupling.