Description
Magnetic fields have been observed in galaxies, galaxy clusters, and
even in the intergalactic medium. While astrophysical mechanisms can account for
the fields within galaxies and clusters, they do not fully explain the presence of
magnetic fields in the intergalactic medium. This motivates the study of the
generation of the magnetic fields in the early Universe, possibly during inflation or
a first-order phase transition. These primordial magnetic fields naturally source a
stochastic background of gravitational waves through their non-zero anisotropic
stresses. In this talk, I will discuss the resulting gravitational wave spectrum and its
characteristic shape. I will also highlight several spectral features that could help
distinguish this signal from other cosmological sources.
