Gravitational Waves from Oscillons with Cuspy Potentials

TL;DR

This paper investigates how cuspy potentials during inflation can lead to oscillon formation, producing a distinctive double-peak gravitational wave spectrum that could reveal details of inflationary physics.

Contribution

It demonstrates that cuspy potentials induce oscillon formation and generate a unique double-peak gravitational wave signature, offering a new observational probe of inflation.

Findings

Cuspy potentials trigger copious oscillon formation.

Oscillons produce a characteristic double-peak gravitational wave spectrum.

Detection of this spectrum could test inflationary models.

Abstract

We study the production of gravitational waves during oscillations of the inflaton around the minimum of a cuspy potential after inflation. We find that a cusp in the potential can trigger copious oscillon formation, which sources a characteristic energy spectrum of gravitational waves with double peaks. The discovery of such a double-peak spectrum could test the underlying inflationary physics.