Speaker
Description
Symmetries, and their breaking, are a cornerstone of our understanding of particle physics. Consequently they have been probed intensively at colliders. However, if the breaking of a symmetry occurs at scales much larger than the energy reached in colliders, then it remains elusive. In this talk I will present an alternative method to study the breaking of particle physics symmetry by exploiting the gravitational wave remnants from the very early universe. In fact, the phase transitions breaking a symmetry can typically proceed via two distinct channels: a sharp and discontinuous first order transition or a smoother cross-over. The firts case generates gravitational wave via the expansion of the nucleated bubbles while the second case produce gravitational wave via the formation of topological defects like cosmic strings or domain walls.
