Probing early Universe supercooled phase transitions with gravitational wave data

Abstract

We investigate the reach of the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA detectors in the search for signatures of first-order phase transitions in the early Universe. Utilizing data from the first three observing runs, we derive constraints on the parameters of the underlying gravitational-wave background, focusing on transitions characterized by strong supercooling. As an application of our analysis, we determine bounds on the parameter space of two representative particle physics models. We also comment on the expected reach of third-generation detectors in probing supercooled phase transitions.