Gravitational Waves from First-Order Phase Transitions Assisted by Temperature-Enhanced Scatterings

TL;DR

This paper explores how temperature-enhanced scatterings influence first-order phase transitions in the early universe, significantly affecting gravitational wave signals detectable by future observatories.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic analysis of finite-temperature self-energy corrections from temperature-enhanced scatterings on scalar potentials, impacting phase transition dynamics and gravitational wave predictions.

Findings

Temperature-dependent corrections can strengthen phase transitions.

Modified transitions produce gravitational waves within future detector sensitivities.

Finite-temperature effects are crucial for accurate early universe cosmology models.

Abstract

Scatterings whose cross sections increase as the cosmic temperature decreases, known as temperature - enhanced scatterings, can have a significant impact on the thermal effective potential of scalar fields responsible for driving cosmological first-order phase transitions. We show that such effects naturally manifest as finite-temperature self-energy corrections to the scalar mass term, leading to an additional contribution of the form \(c\,T^{p}\phi^{2}\) in the effective potential. In this work, we systematically investigate how these loop-induced, temperature-dependent corrections affect key phase transition parameters, including the nucleation temperature, latent heat release, and inverse duration parameter. These modifications influence both the strength and duration of the phase transition, which in turn determine the properties of the resulting stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background. Employing semi-analytic computational methods, we evaluate the GW spectra generated under these conditions and compare our predictions with the projected sensitivities of forthcoming detectors such as LISA, DECIGO, and BBO. Our analysis demonstrates that finite-temperature scattering effects of this kind can substantially strengthen first-order transitions and produce GW signals that lie within the reach of future observational facilities. The results establish a concrete thermal-field-theoretic origin for temperature-dependent modifications of the scalar potential and emphasize their importance in shaping early-Universe cosmological signatures.