Gravitational waves from a holographic phase transition

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Fëanor Reuben Ares, Hindmarsh, Mark, Hoyos, Carlos, Jokela, Niko
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 21.12.2020
• Subjects: Cosmology; Detectors; Field theory; Gravitation; Gravitational waves; Holography; Kinetic energy; Latent heat; Mathematical models; Parameters; Phase diagrams; Phase transitions; Physics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics; Physics - General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology; Physics - High Energy Physics - Phenomenology; Physics - High Energy Physics - Theory; Scalars; Stiffness; Two dimensional models; Wave power
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2011.12878

We investigate first order phase transitions in a holographic setting of five-dimensional Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field, constructing phase diagrams of the dual field theory at finite temperature. We scan over the two-dimensional parameter space of a simple bottom-up model and map out important quantities for the phase transition: the region where first order phase transitions take place; the latent heat, the transition strength parameter \(\alpha\), and the stiffness. We find that \(\alpha\) is generically in the range 0.1 to 0.3, and is strongly correlated with the stiffness (the square of the sound speed in a barotropic fluid). Using the LISA Cosmology Working Group gravitational wave power spectrum model corrected for kinetic energy suppression at large \(\alpha\) and non-conformal stiffness, we outline the observational prospects at the future space-based detectors LISA and TianQin. A TeV-scale hidden sector with a phase transition described by the model could be observable at both detectors.