Signature of Non-Minimal Scalar-Gravity Coupling with an Early Matter Domination on the Power Spectrum of Gravitational Waves

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-minimal scalar-gravity coupling during early matter domination uniquely influences the gravitational wave power spectrum, providing analytical expressions and identifying a distinctive step-like feature as a potential observational signature.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical framework showing how non-zero scalar-gravity couplings create a unique step in the gravitational wave spectrum during early matter domination.

Findings

The step-like feature in the spectrum is a signature of non-zero coupling.

Analytical expressions match numerical simulations well.

The frequency interval of the step is analytically determined.

Abstract

The signal strength of primordial gravitational waves experiencing an epoch of early scalar domination is reduced with respect to radiation domination. In this paper, we demonstrate that the specific pattern of this reduction is sensitive to the coupling between the dominant field and gravity. When this coupling is zero, the impact of early matter domination on gravitational waves is solely attributed to the alteration of the Hubble parameter and the scale factor. In the presence of non-zero couplings, on the other hand, the evolution of primordial gravitational waves is directly affected as well, resulting in a distinct step-like feature in the power spectrum of the gravitational wave as a function of frequency. This feature serves as a smoking gun signature of this model. In this paper, we provide an analytical expression of the power spectrum that illustrates the dependence of power spectrum on model parameters and initial conditions. Furthermore, we provide analytical relations that specify the frequency interval in which the step occurs. We compare the analytical estimates with numerical analysis and show they match well.