Gravitational waves as a probe of early universe phase transitions

<!--HTML--><p>Abstract:&nbsp;</p> <p>Future space-based gravitational wave detectors like LISA may be able to detect signals from a phase transition at the electroweak scale, a few picoseconds&nbsp;after the Big Bang. By detecting a stochastic gravitational wave background from the early universe, we might even be able&nbsp;to find out some details of the phase transition such as the nucleation rate and transition temperature. This would provide important information about what lies beyond the&nbsp;Standard Model. However, better understanding of the physics of such phase transitions is required, calling for simulations over many length- and timescales. In this talk I will outline our current understanding of&nbsp;gravitational wave production from first-order phase transitions, what is still left to figure out, and the prospects for detecting a stochastic background of gravitational waves with LISA.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The talk slides, including movies, are available from:<a href="https://saoghal.net/slides/EuCAPT/"> https://saoghal.net/slides/EuCAPT/</a> .</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The video of the presentation will be available shortly.&nbsp;</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> Eucapt Colloquia: https://cern.zoom.us/j/63134744585?pwd=UDAySWpBZGNMTVlSWitQRGYrTzZQdz09