Sanjit Mitra
Abstract:
A stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) can be created by phenomena in the early universe and by a large collection of astrophysical sources. Detection of a stochastic background of either origin would be a giant leap in observational cosmology. It will provide a major boost to our understanding of inflation and structure formation. Many ongoing and upcoming experiments are focussing on SGWB detection in different frequency bands for a variety of sources. Advanced ground-based interferometric detectors may be able to detect an astrophysical SGWB. A background may be significantly anisotropic if dominated by the local universe, for which optimal and efficient search algorithms have been developed. Apart from the expected sources, searches for stochastic background also serve another primary goal of astronomy, to look for the unknowns.