Scalar-induced gravitational waves with non-Gaussianity up to all orders

arXiv:2508.10812 | INSPIRE-HEP

Abstract: Scalar-induced gravitational waves (SIGWs) are ubiquitous in many early-Universe processes accompanied by non-Gaussianity; while Gaussian perturbation can generate significant SIGWs, computations of SIGWs can be significantly affected and enhanced if the scalar perturbations have some degree of non-Gaussianity; hence, precise calculations of these kinds of SIGWs involve a full understanding of non-Gaussianity. In this Letter, we propose to use the lattice simulations to directly calculate the energy density spectra of SIGWs with non-Gaussianity up to all orders. Our proposal has been first verified to match the existing semi-analytical results with non-Gaussianity, and then applied to more general cases, including high-order primordial non-Gaussianities, the logarithmic dependence in curvature perturbations, the curvaton model, and the ultra slow-roll model. We find that even a modest non-Gaussianity can significantly alter ultraviolet behaviors in SIGW spectra, necessitating special cautions in future detections as well as mutual constraints on/from primordial black holes.

Recommended citation: Xiang-Xi Zeng, Zhuan Ning, Rong-Gen Cai, and Shao-Jiang Wang, “Scalar-induced gravitational waves with non-Gaussianity up to all orders,” arXiv:2508.10812 [astro-ph.CO] (2025).