RELIC GRAVITATIONAL-WAVES AND EXTENDED INFLATION

In extended inflation, a new version of inflation where the transition from an inflationary to a radiation-dominated Universe is accomplished by bubble nucleation, bubble collisions supply a potent and potentially detectable source of gravitational waves. The energy density in relic gravitons from bubble collisions is expected to be about 10-5 of closure density. Their characteristic wavelength depends upon the reheating temperature TRH: (104 cm)[(1014 GeV)/TRH]. If black holes are produced by bubble collisions, they will evaporate producing shorter-wavelength gravitons. © 1990 The American Physical Society.