# Are pre-big-bang models falsifiable by gravitational wave experiments?

## Motivations

One of the direct phenomenological predictions of inflationary cosmological models is the generation of a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GW’s). For “slow-roll” inflationary models this prediction is hardly testable: since the spectrum is almost flat over the huge frequency band $`10^{16}\mathrm{Hz}1\mathrm{GHz}`$ GWInfl , in the window $`10\mathrm{Hz}1\mathrm{kHz}`$, where ground-based GW experiments operate, the maximum value of the energy spectrum $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f)\rho _c^1d\rho _{\mathrm{gw}}(f)/d\mathrm{ln}(f)`$ compatible with the COBE measurements of the cosmic micro-wave background (CMB) temperature fluctuations at large scales – $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}10^{14}`$ KW92  – is well below the sensitivity expected for the third generation of detectors, $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}\stackrel{>}{}10^{11}`$.

“Pre-big-bang” (PBB) models PRBB  represent an alternative to the standard “slow-roll” inflationary scenario. In a minimal PBB model, one assumes that the initial state is the perturbative vacuum of super-string theory, the flat 10-dimensions Minkowski space-time; the Universe goes first through an inflationary phase where the curvature and the string coupling increase, eventually reaches a “stringy epoch” where the curvature scale is of order one in units of the string length, and finally evolves into a typical decelerated radiation/matter dominated era. The inflationary PBB phase has a precise consequence on the structure of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f)`$, which affects the detectability of the stochastic background by laser interferometers, whose ”science-runs” are expected to begin at the end of 2001: in the low frequency range, the spectrum is characterized by a steep power law, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}f^3`$ BGGV ; indeed the COBE bound is easily evaded, and the spectrum can peak at frequencies of interest for GW experiments, while satisfying the existing experimental bounds BGV ; BMU .

For the rather general class of minimal PBB models, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f)`$ depends on two free parameters: (i) the red-shift $`z_sf_1/f_s`$ of the high-curvature phase, which fixes the “knee” frequency $`f_s`$ between the low and high frequency regime ($`f_110^{10}`$ Hz is the cut-off frequency of the spectrum, whose exact value is irrelevant for the issues discussed here); (ii) the value $`g_s`$ of the string coupling at the onset of the high-curvature phase, which determines the high-frequency slope of the spectrum. In Fig. 1 we show $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f)`$ for two choices of the free parameters; varying $`g_s`$ and $`z_s`$, the maximum value of the spectrum compatible with the constraints due to pulsar timing data and to the abundance of light elements at the nucleosynthesis epoch is $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}10^7`$ BMU .

$`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f)`$ strongly depends on $`z_s`$ and $`g_s`$: they affect both the frequency behaviour and the peak value of the spectrum. Whether GW experiments will be able or not to detect a signal predicted by PBB models does depend on the actual value of the ”true” parameters. Indeed, GW experiments represent one of the very few avenues where the cosmological models can be verified, and could open a new era for studies of the very-early Universe and the structure of fundamental fields at high energies Creighton ; Maggiore . The emphasis of this contribution is not on finding the best theoretical scenario which would guarantee a detection. The goal of our analysis is to address to which extent GW observations can test PBB models, and more in detail to identify the the region of the free-parameter space that experiments can probe. A similar analysis, in the context of string cosmology models, was carried out in AB .

## Results

In order to address whether a background characterized by a given energy spectrum $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f;z_s,g_s)`$ is indeed detectable or not, one needs to evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that can be obtained by cross-correlating the output of two detectors as a function of the model parameters, in our case $`z_s`$ and $`g_s`$ (see also AB ). The data analysis issues related to the detection of a stochastic background have been thoroughly discussed in ALRO , where the reader can find full details. Here we recall only the expression of the signal-to-noise ratio:

$$\mathrm{SNR}\frac{3H_0^2}{10\pi ^2}T_{\mathrm{obs}}^{1/2}\left[_{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}𝑑f\frac{\gamma ^2(|f|)\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}^2(|f|;z_s,g_s)}{f^6S_1(|f|)S_2(|f|)}\right]^{1/2}.$$
(1)   
In Eq. (1) $`T_{\mathrm{obs}}`$ is the observation time – which is usually assumed to be a few months long – $`H_0=100h_0`$ km sec<sup>-1</sup> Mpc<sup>-1</sup> is the Hubble constant, $`S_{i=1,2}(f)`$ is the noise spectral density of the $`i`$th detector, and $`\gamma (f)`$ is the overlap reduction function. The spectrum $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f;g_s,f_s)`$ for minimal PBB models is given in BMU .

Fig. 2 summarizes the results: it shows the contour plots of SNR for $`T_{\mathrm{obs}}=10^7`$sec which can be achieved by cross-correlating the two 4-km LIGO interferometers located in Hanford and Livingston. The contours are drawn in the relevant 2-dimensional parameter space: in order to highlight the physical content, our parameter choice corresponds to $`\mathrm{log}_{10}(z_s)`$ and $`\mathrm{log}_{10}(g_s/g_1)`$; here $`g_1^2/4\pi =\alpha _{GUT}`$, where $`\alpha _{GUT}`$ is the gauge coupling at the unification scale ($`\alpha _{GUT}1/20`$). The two free-parameters of the models are defined over the following range: $`0<g_s/g_1<1`$ and $`1<z_s<10^{16}`$. In our analysis we have considered the estimated noise spectral density for the initial, enhanced and advanced LIGO configuration (the so-called LIGO I, II, and III, respectively).

For initial LIGO, the minimum value of a detectable stochastic background is $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}^{\mathrm{min}}5\times 10^6`$, cfr. also ALRO , and therefore the experiments can not provide any direct hint about PBB models: the maximum value of SNR, for fined-tuned parameters of the model, is just below one. However, the enhanced LIGO configuration will allow us to explore a relatively large parameter region: for SNR $`>5`$, one can probe models where $`g_s`$ differs by one order of magnitude with respect to its present value $`g_1`$ and about eight orders of magnitude in $`f_s`$; the SNR reaches a maximum $`100`$ when $`g_sg_1`$. The advanced LIGO configuration – which however requires major technological developments – will enlarge the $`g_s`$-range that one can test by more than one order of magnitude; for selected parameter values the experiment could reach SNR $`1000`$.

Notice that the experiments are very sensitive to $`g_s`$, and achieve the maximum SNR for $`g_sg_1`$.

One might wonder whether other interferometers and/or resonant detectors could provide relevant information for the problem at hand. Unfortunately the location, orientation and sensitivity of VIRGO, GEO600 and TAMA are such that any search involving one of these three instruments will not allow to detect a stochastic background of PBB gravitons; just as reference, a VIRGO-GEO600 cross-correlation experiment will reach $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}^{\mathrm{min}}8\times 10^6`$ for an integration time of 4-months. Neither resonant antenna are suitable: two ”bars” operating at the quantum limit with exactly the same resonance frequency would reach a maximum sensitivity $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}^{\mathrm{min}}5\times 10^6`$ (see also Vitale ), which is a factor $`10`$ worse than the one required for the most optimistic theoretical prediction; experiments involving hollow spheres Coccia , which are currently under study, could reach $`h_0^2\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}^{\mathrm{min}}10^7`$ for detectors operating at the quantum limit and co-located; this would produce a SNR $`1`$ for a PBB model whose parameters are such that the peak of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{gw}}(f)`$ is right in the middle of the sphere frequency band.

## Conclusions

Minimal PBB models predict a GW stochastic background which could be detectable by cross-correlating the two LIGO instruments – or, more in general, two interferometers at a distance $`<3000`$ km and quasi-optimally oriented – with a sensitivity which is intermediate between the first and second stage. In the time frame 2004-2005, when the detectors are expected to operate in the so-called enhanced configuration, we will be able to place experimental constraints on PBB models for a fairly large portion of the free-parameter space. A more detailed analysis regarding the issues discussed here is currently in preparation.