Tina Kahniashvili (NYU)
Gravitational Radiation from Primordial Turbulence


Energy injection into the early universe can induce turbulent motions of the primordial plasma, which in turn act as a source for gravitational radiation. Earlier work computed the amplitude and characteristic frequency of the relic gravitational wave background, as a function of the total energy injected and the stirring scale of the turbulence. I will present the frequency spectrum of relic gravitational radiation from a turbulent source of the stationary Kolmogoroff form which acts for a given duration, making no other approximations. It will be shown that the limit of long source wavelengths, commonly employed in aeroacoustic problems, is an excellent approximation. I will discuss also modifications of the spectrum due to a cosmological magnetic field presence at the electroweak energy scale. Summarizing the dectability of relic gravitational waves and their polarization by future space-based laser interferometers will be discussed.



04 10 2007, ISCAP Seminar Room Pupin 908, Thursday 12:00pm