Tensor spectrum of turbulence-sourced gravitational waves as a constraint on graviton mass

Abstract

We consider a generic dispersive massive gravity theory and numericallystudy its resulting modified energy and strain spectra of tensor gravitational waves (GWs)sourced by (i) fully developed turbulence during the electroweak phasetransition (EWPT) and (ii) forced hydromagnetic turbulence duringthe QCD phase transition (QCDPT).The GW spectra are then computed in both spatial and temporal Fourier domains.We find, from the spatial spectra, that the slope modifications areweakly dependent on the eddy size at QCDPT, and, from the temporalspectra, that the modifications are pronounced in the 1–10 range — the sensitivity range of the North American Nanohertz Observatoryfor Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) — for a graviton mass in therange 2×10-23 c27×10-22.