arXiv subjects

Miguel Vanvlasselaer

Publications and source records attributed to Miguel Vanvlasselaer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Inspiralling Binary merger parameter reconstruction with lunar and satellite Laser Ranging

Precision tracking of Earth--Moon and Earth--satellite ranges offers a novel, low-frequency avenue for detecting gravitational waves from inspiralling massive black hole binaries, complementary to space-based interferometers. In this paper, we propose a first study of the reconstruction of the binary parameters from a synthetic set of range observations. \textit{Set-up}: Assuming an ideal unperturbed Keplerian motion for the earth-satellite binary, we develop a framework for reconstructing the chirp mass $\mathcal M_c$ and luminosity distance $D_L$ of chirping sources from the perturbations they induce on ranging observables, using both Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) and a two-satellite ranging configuration (GUEST) as concrete case studies. \textit{Result}: We find that chirp-mass recovery tightly converges as a power law in SNR ($σ_{M_c}/M_c \propto \mathrm{SNR}^α$, $α\simeq -1$ to $-1.8$) for both LLR and GUEST. In contrast, the luminosity distance suffers from a severe, SNR-independent degeneracy with the sky-orientation angles in the LLR configuration, yielding fractional biases and uncertainties of tens to over a hundred percent regardless of signal strength. The two-satellite GUEST configuration breaks this degeneracy and restores a convergent, SNR-dependent recovery of $D_L$ comparable in scaling to that of the chirp mass. These results demonstrate that multi-baseline ranging architectures are essential for extracting luminosity-distance information from ranging-based gravitational wave searches, while chirp-mass measurements remain reliably accessible even with a single ranging baseline such as the Earth--Moon system.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

GUEST: Gravitational Universe Exploration with Satellite Tracking. A passive satellite laser-ranging mission for the dark gravitational Universe

GUEST is a space mission concept whose central objective is the detection of gravitational waves (GWs) in the microhertz band -- a physics-rich frequency window that no other present or planned detector can reach at a significant level. The concept is simple: two dense, passive spheres, covered with cube-corner retroreflectors, deployed in {highly eccentric} Earth orbits ($e \gtrsim 0.7$, period $P \gtrsim 33$ h), tracked continuously by the global network of satellite laser-ranging stations over a minimum observation time of 10 years, with an expected total duration of 30 years. The orbits themselves act as resonant detectors of the oscillating gravitational perturbations, with the microhertz sensitivity emerging from the selected orbital parameters. From the same data stream, GUEST delivers a programme of fundamental and applied science that cuts across particle physics, gravitational-wave astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, and geodesy: the first coherent search for GWs from supermassive black-hole binaries in the $μ$Hz band, the exploration of primordial GW backgrounds in the unexplored energy-scale gap between pulsar-timing arrays and LISA, a dedicated probe of ultra-light dark matter in a parameter region untouched by any other experiment, a new way to search for ultra-light bosons, order-of-magnitude-improved tests of new gravitational interactions at astronomical ranges, and a step change in the absolute determination of $GM_\oplus$ that underpins the Global Geodetic Observing System and future navigation and Earth-observation missions. This white paper presents the motivation, scientific reach, and mission concept of GUEST.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Dynamical evolution of the pressure on the bubble wall

First-order phase transitions in the early Universe are pivotal for gravitational wave production, baryogenesis, and dark matter generation. A central question is whether bubble walls reach a subjouguet or ultra-relativistic velocity - a distinction governed by hydrodynamic obstruction, where plasma heating counteracts the vacuum pressure driving the wall. Traditional analyses assume steady-state fluid profiles, but these may fail during the wall's acceleration phase. We study the dynamical evolution of the pressure on the bubble wall in local thermal equilibrium (LTE), combining analytical approximations with numerical hydrodynamic simulations. Our results reveal that the heating wave's formation time often exceeds the wall's acceleration timescale, invalidating steady-state predictions near the Jouguet velocity. We derive a revised criterion for the maximal driving pressure, which separates deflagration/hybrid regimes from detonations/runaway walls. This criterion, validated by simulations, shows that hydrodynamic obstruction is less restrictive than steady state LTE predictions suggest.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Implications for Pulsar Timing Arrays of Sub-solar Black Hole Detections: From LVK to Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer

The detection of compact binary mergers with sub-solar masses at gravitational-wave observatories could mark the groundbreaking discovery of primordial black holes (PBHs). Concurrently, evidence for a nHz stochastic gravitational wave background observed by pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) could suggest a non-astrophysical origin, potentially arising from scalar-induced gravitational waves (SIGW). In this work, we analyze the connection between the two phenomena in the case where they share a common origin: the collapse of large primordial curvature perturbations in the early universe. We focus on sub-solar PBH populations within reach of upcoming experiments, including the current and future runs of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA as well as the third generation observatories such as the Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer. Using a Bayesian framework with physically motivated priors, we perform a consistent model comparison that incorporates existing astrophysical bounds together with the discovery potential of future detectors. Our analysis lends stronger support for the SIGW interpretation over the astrophysical one, as the narrowed priors place greater weight on the region of highest likelihood. Ultimately, we illustrate that combining PTA data with interferometer searches can deliver correlated evidence for new physics across multiple gravitational-wave bands.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Spontaneous Baryogenesis from Axions on Induced Electroweak Walls

We propose a baryogenesis mechanism in which an electroweak phase boundary is induced by a wall-like configuration of a scalar field, such as a domain wall or a shock wave, coupled to the Higgs field. If the Higgs mass parameter depends on the scalar field value, the wall locally separates the electroweak-symmetric and broken phases, thereby providing an induced electroweak wall. We focus on the case where the scalar field is an axion-like particle coupled to the SU(2) Chern--Simons density. The motion of the wall then generates a local effective chemical potential for B+L, realizing a spontaneous baryogenesis mechanism. In the presence of unsuppressed sphaleron transitions in front of the wall, this biases the plasma and leads to baryon asymmetry generation. We discuss the parametric conditions for the induced wall, cosmological realizations based on domain walls and shock waves, and the associated implications for baryon inhomogeneities and gravitational waves. The axion coupling is predicted to be sufficiently weak to evade current experimental and observational bounds.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Baryogenesis from Exploding Primordial Black Holes

Exploding primordial black holes can source baryon asymmetry soon after the electroweak phase transition, as high-energy Hawking radiation drives ultrarelativistic shocks in the surrounding plasma. The shocks and their trailing rarefaction waves delineate two bubble-like walls around a shell of superheated fluid, in which electroweak symmetry is restored. These moving interfaces source chiral charge, which is converted to baryon number. Upon adding a simple CP-violating operator at the TeV scale, this mechanism yields the observed baryon asymmetry with minimal dependence on PBH model parameters.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Inverse bubbles from broken supersymmetry

Building upon the recent findings regarding inverse phase transitions in the early universe, we present the first natural realisation of this phenomenon within a supersymmetry-breaking sector. We demonstrate that inverse hydrodynamics, which is characterized by the fluid being aspirated by the bubble wall rather than being pushed or dragged, is actually not limited to a phase of (re)heating but can also occur within the standard cooling cosmology. Through a numerical analysis of the phase transition, we establish a simple and generic criterion to determine its hydrodynamics based on the generalised pseudo-trace. Our results provide a proof of principle highlighting the need to account for these new fluid solutions when considering cosmological phase transitions and their phenomenological implications.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Gravitational waves from the sound shell model: direct and inverse phase transitions in the early Universe

Cosmological phase transitions are a frequent phenomenon in particle physics models beyond the Standard Model, and the corresponding gravitational wave signal offers a key probe of new physics in the early Universe. Depending on the underlying microphysics, the transition can exhibit either direct or inverse hydrodynamics, leading to a different phenomenology. Most studies to date have focused on direct transitions, where the cosmic fluid is pushed or dragged by the expanding vacuum bubbles. In contrast, inverse phase transitions are characterized by fluid profiles where the plasma is sucked in by the expanding bubbles. Using the sound shell model, we derive and compare the gravitational wave spectra from sound waves for direct and inverse phase transitions, providing new insights into the potential observable features and the possibility of discriminating among the various fluid solutions in gravitational wave experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Shocks from Exploding Primordial Black Holes in the Early Universe

We investigate how Hawking radiation from low-mass primordial black holes deposits energy into the early-universe plasma and show that the resulting phenomena are hydrodynamic rather than purely diffusive. Combining analytic arguments with relativistic hydrodynamic simulations, we find that the plasma first develops a quasi-steady outflow during the slow evaporation stage, while the final runaway phase of evaporation produces an expanding fireball that launches a shock wave into the surrounding medium. We characterize the thermalization scale of the Hawking products, the conditions under which shocks form, and the evolution and propagation of shocks. Additionally, we show that these shocks can locally restore electroweak symmetry, identifying exploding PBHs as a potentially important source of out-of-equilibrium dynamics in the early universe with profound phenomenological implications.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Domain walls in the scaling regime: Equal Time Correlator and Gravitational Waves

Domain walls are topological defects that may have formed in the early Universe through the spontaneous breakdown of discrete symmetries, and can be a strong source of gravitational waves (GWs). We perform 3D lattice field theory simulations with CosmoLattice, considering grid sizes $N = 1250$, $2048$ and $4096$, to study the dynamics of the domain wall network and its GW signatures. We first analyze how the network approaches the scaling regime with a constant $\mathcal{O}(1)$ number of domain walls per Hubble volume, including setups with a large initial number of domains as expected in realistic scenarios, and find that scaling is always reached in a few Hubble times after the network formation. To better understand the properties of the scaling regime, we then numerically extract the Equal Time Correlator (ETC) of the energy-momentum tensor of the network, thus determining its characteristic shape for the case of domain walls, and verifying explicitly its functional dependence as predicted by scaling arguments. The ETC can be further extended to the Unequal Time Correlator (UTC) controlling the GW emission by making assumptions on the coherence of the source. By comparison with the actual GW spectrum evaluated by CosmoLattice, we are then able to infer the degree of coherence of the domain wall network. Finally, by performing numerical simulations in different background cosmologies, e.g. radiation domination and kination, we find evidence for a universal ETC at subhorizon scales and hence a universal shape of the GW spectrum in the UV, while the expansion history of the Universe may instead be determined by the IR features of the GW spectrum.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

CP-violation in production of heavy neutrinos from bubble collisions

First order phase transitions (FOPT) in the early Universe can be powerful emitters of both relativistic and heavy particles, upon the collision of ultra-relativistic bubble shells. If the particles coupling to the bubble wall have CP-violating interactions, the same collision process can also create a local lepton or baryon charge. This CP-violation can originate from different channels, which have only been partially addressed in the literature. We present a systematic analysis of the different channels inducing CP-violation during bubble collisions: 1) the decay of heavy particles 2) the production of heavy particles and 3) the production of light and relativistic Standard Model (SM) particles. As an illustration of the impact that such mechanisms can have on baryon number and dark matter (DM) abundance, we then introduce a simple model of cogenesis, separating a positive and a negative lepton number in the SM and a dark sector (DS). The lepton number asymmetry in the SM can be used to explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU), while the opposite asymmetry in the DS is responsible for determining the abundance of DM. Moreover, the masses of light neutrinos can be understood via the inverse seesaw mechanism, with the lepton-violating Majorana mass originating from the FOPT. A typical signal produced by a FOPT is the irreducible gravitational wave (GW) background. We find that a substantial portion of the parameter space can be probed at future observatories like the Einstein Telescope (ET).

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Un avenir commun au sein de la société numérique

Today, data and information have become overabundant resources within a global network of machines that exchange signals at speeds approaching that of light. In this highly saturated environment, communication has emerged as the most central form of interaction, supported by a rapidly evolving technical infrastructure. These new communication tools have created an overwhelming surplus of information so much so that no human could process it all. In response, platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Google use algorithms to filter and suggest content. These algorithms act as sorting mechanisms, reducing the informational noise and presenting users with content tailored to their habits and preferences. However, by placing themselves between users and data, these platforms gain control over what users see and, in doing so, shape their preferences and behaviors. In physical terms, we might say they function like selective filters or control gates in an information system directing flows and creating feedback loops. Over time, this can lead to a kind of informational inertia, where users become increasingly shaped by algorithmic influence and lose the ability to form independent judgments. This process reflects a broader trend that Bernard Stiegler describes as a new kind of proletarianization where individuals lose the knowledge and skills that are absorbed and automated by digital systems. Borrowing from physics, we study this as a shift toward higher entropy. However, platforms like Wikipedia and arXiv demonstrate how digital tools can support collective knowledge without leading to cognitive degradation. Inspired by Elinor Ostrom work on commons, we propose a model for a digital commons economy where information is shared and governed collaboratively, helping to restore a balance between entropy and organization in our digital environments.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2025

Bubble wall dynamics from nonequilibrium quantum field theory

We derive the coupled dynamics between the bubble wall and the plasma from first principles using nonequilibrium quantum field theory. The commonly used equation of motion of the bubble wall in the kinetic approach is shown to be incomplete. In the language of the two-particle-irreducible effective action, the conventional equation misses higher-loop terms generated by the condensate-particle type vertices (e.g.,~$φϕχ^2$, where $φ$ is the background field describing the bubble wall, $ϕ$ the corresponding particle excitation and $χ$ another particle species in the plasma). From the missing terms, we identify an additional dissipative friction which is contributed by particle production processes from the condensate-particle type vertices. We also show how other transmission processes beyond the 1-to-1 elementary transmission studied in the literature for ultrarelativistic bubble walls, e.g., 1-to-1 mixing and 1-to-2 transition radiation, can be understood from the kinetic approach.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

ALP leptogenesis

We propose a novel realisation of leptogenesis that relies on the out-of-equilibrium decay of an axion-like particle (ALP) into right-handed Majorana neutrinos (RHNs) in the early Universe. With respect to standard thermal leptogenesis, our mechanism lowers by two orders of magnitude the RHN mass, or the tuning in the RHN mass splittings, needed to reproduce the baryon asymmetry of the Universe and neutrino masses. We find that ALP leptogenesis requires $m_a > 10^{4}$ GeV and $f_a > 10^{11}$ GeV for the ALP mass and decay constant, and predicts an early period of matter domination induced by the ALP in parts of its parameter space. We finally provide a viable supersymmetric realisation of ALP leptogenesis where the ALP is the $R$-axion, which accommodates GeV gravitino dark matter and predicts RHN below 10 TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

DW-genesis: generating the baryon number from domain walls

We show that axionic domain walls, when they couple to the lepton number, can generate a net baryon and lepton number through the mechanism of spontaneous baryogenesis. We study systematically the baryon asymmetry produced by these domain walls (DWs) at annihilation, and refer to this process as DW-genesis. We find that the baryon number is maximised when the DW network collapses approximately at the moment when the $L$-violating interaction decouples. We explore the expected gravitational wave signal from the DW network annihilation and the prospects for detecting it, but conclude that successful DW-genesis is typically in tension with observable GW signal. Morever, we briefly discuss a possible suppression induced by the cancellation between the asymmetry created by "opposite" axionic domain walls attached to the string.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Populating dark sectors with relativistic bubble walls

In this talk, we present a mechanism of Dark Matter production during first order phase transitions and happening via the collision of the bubble wall and plasma quanta. We will first study the possibility that the dark matter is produced via a renormalisable operator. We will observe that in this context the DM can be much heavier than the scale of the phase transition and has a large initial velocity, leading to the possibility of the DM to be warm today. We will then turn to more realistic scenarios where the Dark Matter sector is secluded and its interaction with the visible sector (including the Standard Model) originates from dimension-five and dimension-six operators. In this regime, we also find that such DM is typically heavy and warm today. We study separately the cases of weakly and strongly coupled dark sectors, where, in the latter case, we focus on glueball DM, which turns out to have very distinct phenomenological properties. For completeness, we also systematically compute the Freeze-In production of the dark sector and compare it with the bubble-plasma DM abundances. All the analytical results are collected in a table presented in this paper.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

DW-genesis: baryon number from domain wall network collapse

Axionic domain walls, as they move through the early universe plasma during their collapse, can generate a net baryon and lepton number through the mechanism of spontaneous baryogenesis, provided that there is a coupling between the axion and the lepton or baryon current. In this paper, we study systematically the baryon asymmetry produced by these domain walls (DWs) at annihilation, within different realisations of the $L$- or $B$-violating sector, and refer to this process as DW-genesis. We find that the baryon number is maximised when the DW network collapses approximately at the moment when the $L$- or $B$-violating interaction decouples. We study a model of minimal leptogenesis, a model of cogenesis, a model of baryogenesis and finally the possibility that the baryon asymmetry is produced by electroweak sphalerons. As phenomenological consequences of DW-genesis, we discuss the expected gravitational wave signal from the DW network annihilation and the prospects for detecting it. However, we finally emphasize that in realisations of the DW-genesis in minimal post-inflationary scenarios, there is a suppression induced by the cancellation between the asymmetry created by "opposite" axionic domain walls attached to the string. We quantify the impact of this cancellation and discuss possible ways to avoid it.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

The hydrodynamics of inverse phase transitions

First order phase transitions are violent phenomena that occur when the state of the universe evolves abruptly from one vacuum to another. A \emph{direct} phase transition connects a local vacuum to a deeper vacuum of the zero--temperature potential, and the energy difference between the two minima manifests itself in the acceleration of the bubble wall. In this sense, the transition is triggered by the release of vacuum energy. On the other hand, an \emph{inverse} phase transition connects a deeper minimum of the zero--temperature potential to a higher one, and the bubble actually expands against the vacuum energy. The transition is then triggered purely by thermal corrections. We study for the first time the hydrodynamics and the energy budget of inverse phase transitions. We find several modes of expansion for inverse bubbles, which are related to the known ones for direct transitions by a mirror symmetry. We finally investigate the friction exerted on the bubble wall and comment on the possibility of runaway walls in inverse phase transitions.

hep-ph↗