Imprints of a second order electroweak phase transition on the stochastic gravitational wave background

Abstract In this work we shall study the impact of a second order electroweak phase transition occurring at $$\sim 150$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>150</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> GeV on the energy spectrum of the stochastic gravitational background. Specifically, we assume that the non-minimally coupled Higgs field controls the inflationary era, we find the reheating temperature for the Higgs inflationary model and we demonstrate that the Higgs effective potential exhibits a very weak first order phase transition. This weak first order phase transition is an indication that the electroweak phase transition may not actually proceed as a first order phase transition, but it will proceed as a crossover or second order phase transition. This second order phase transition proceeds with the Higgs field slow-rolling its potential toward to its new minimum. This slow-rolling may deform the radiation domination total equation of state, and the aim of this work is to pinpoint the observational imprints of this total equation of state deformation on the energy spectrum of the primordial gravitational waves, that affects modes that enter the horizon at temperatures $$T\sim 150$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>150</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> GeV or lower.