Constraining gravitational-wave backgrounds from conversions into photons in the Galactic magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper investigates how graviton-photon conversions in the Milky-Way magnetic field can constrain high-frequency gravitational waves by analyzing their potential imprint on the cosmic photon background spectrum, leading to improved bounds.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of graviton-photon conversions in the Galactic magnetic field using advanced models, setting new constraints on high-frequency gravitational waves.

Findings

Constraints on gravitational-wave strain improved by 1-2 orders of magnitude.

No significant diffuse photon flux detected from graviton-photon conversions.

Results strengthen astrophysical bounds on high-frequency gravitational waves.

Abstract

High-frequency gravitational waves ($f \gtrsim 1$ MHz) may provide a unique signature for the existence of exotic physics. The lack of current and future gravitational-wave experiments sensitive at those frequencies leads to the need of employing different indirect techniques. Notably, one of the most promising one is constituted by graviton-photon conversions in magnetic fields. In this work, we focus on conversions of a gravitational-wave background into photons inside the Milky-Way magnetic field, taking into account the state-of-the-art models for both regular and turbulent components. We discuss how graviton-to-photon conversions may lead to imprints in the cosmic photon background spectrum in the range of frequencies $f\sim10^{9}-10^{26}\,$Hz, where the observed photon flux is widely explained by astrophysics emission models. Hence, the absence of any significant evidence for a diffuse photon flux induced by graviton-photon conversions allows us to set stringent constraints on the gravitational-wave strain $h_c$, strengthening current astrophysical bounds by $\sim1-2$ orders of magnitude in the whole range of frequencies considered.