Updated predictions for gravitational waves produced in a strongly supercooled phase transition

Abstract

We update predictions for the gravitational wave (GW) signal from a strongly supercooled phase transition in an illustrative classically conformal U(1)B−L model. We implement ∝ γ2 scaling of the friction on the bubble wall and update the estimates for the efficiency factors for GW production from bubble collisions and plasma-related sources. We take into account the fact that a small decay rate of the symmetry-breaking field may lead to brief matter-dominated era after the transition, as the field oscillates around its minimum before decaying. We find that a strong bubble collision signal occurs in a significant part of the parameter space, and that the modified redshift of the modes that re-enter the horizon during the matter-dominated period generates a characteristic tilted 'plateau' in the spectrum. The GW spectrum in this model would be detectable in the low-frequency range, e.g., by LISA, and in the mid-frequency range, e.g., by AION/MAGIS and AEDGE, and in the high-frequency range by LIGO and ET. The peak frequency of the signal is limited from below by collider constraints on the mass of the U(1)B−L gauge boson, while at high frequencies the slow decay of the scalar field and the resulting matter-dominated era diminishes the GW signal.