- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Gravitational waves from a holographic first-order QCD phase transition with a magnetic field

Man-Man Sun1,*, Man-Li Tian2,†, and Zhou-Run Zhu1,‡

  • *Contact author: sunmm@zknu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: 20252018@zknu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: zhuzhourun@zknu.edu.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 114, 046020 – Published 24 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nqxg-zhrb

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the generation of gravitational waves (GWs) from a first-order QCD confinement-deconfinement phase transition under an external magnetic field from holography. We analyze the GW spectra across both hard-wall and soft-wall models for Jouguet detonations and nonrunaway scenarios. Our results indicate that increasing the magnetic field shifts the spectral peak to lower frequencies. The predicted GW signals are potentially detectable by observatories such as IPTA, SKA, BBO, and NANOGrav. Decomposing the spectra reveals that sound waves typically dominate the signal around the peak frequency, bubble collisions prevail at spectral extremities, and the contribution from magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is significant only for nonrunaway bubble scenarios at high frequencies. This work suggests that magnetized QCD phase transitions are viable cosmological sources for observable GW backgrounds, offering a potential pathway to constrain primordial magnetic fields through future pulsar timing array observations.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (70)

  1. B. P. Abbott et al. (LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations), Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016).
  2. Z. Arzoumanian et al. (NANOGrav Collaboration), Astrophys. J. Lett. 905, L34 (2020).
  3. G. Agazie et al. (NANOGrav Collaborations), Astrophys. J. Lett. 951, L8 (2023).
  4. G. Agazie et al. (NANOGrav Collaborations), Astrophys. J. Lett. 951, L9 (2023).
  5. C. J. Moore, R. H. Cole, and C. P. L. Berry, Classical Quantum Gravity 32, 015014 (2015).
  6. W. H. Ruan, Z. K. Guo, R. G. Cai, and Y. Z. Zhang, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 35, 2050075 (2020).
  7. R. G. Cai, Z. Cao, Z. K. Guo, S. J. Wang, and T. Yang, Natl. Sci. Rev. 4, 687 (2017).
  8. C. Caprini, M. Hindmarsh, S. Huber, T. Konstandin, J. Kozaczuk, G. Nardini, J. M. No, A. Petiteau, P. Schwaller, G. Servant et al., J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2016) 001.
  9. M. Hindmarsh, S. J. Huber, K. Rummukainen, and D. J. Weir, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 041301 (2014).
  10. J. Ellis, M. Lewicki, and J. M. No, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 04 (2019) 003.
  11. P. Schwaller, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 181101 (2015).
  12. K. Kajantie, M. Laine, K. Rummukainen, and M. E. Shaposhnikov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 2887 (1996).
  13. M. A. Stephanov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4472 (1996).
  14. Z. Fodor and S. D. Katz, J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2004) 050.
  15. A. Kosowsky, M. S. Turner, and R. Watkins, Phys. Rev. D 45, 4514 (1992).
  16. A. Kosowsky and M. S. Turner, Phys. Rev. D 47, 4372 (1993).
  17. M. Kamionkowski, A. Kosowsky, and M. S. Turner, Phys. Rev. D 49, 2837 (1994).
  18. C. Caprini, R. Durrer, and G. Servant, Phys. Rev. D 77, 124015 (2008).
  19. M. Hindmarsh, S. J. Huber, K. Rummukainen, and D. J. Weir, Phys. Rev. D 92, 123009 (2015).
  20. J. T. Giblin and J. B. Mertens, Phys. Rev. D 90, 023532 (2014).
  21. C. Caprini, R. Durrer, and G. Servant, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 12 (2009) 024.
  22. T. Kahniashvili, A. Kosowsky, G. Gogoberidze, and Y. Maravin, Phys. Rev. D 78, 043003 (2008).
  23. L. Kisslinger and T. Kahniashvili, Phys. Rev. D 92, 043006 (2015).
  24. F. Bigazzi, A. Caddeo, T. Canneti, and A. L. Cotrone, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2021) 090.
  25. M. Yamada, Phys. Lett. B 873, 140157 (2026).
  26. C. Caprini, R. Durrer, and X. Siemens, Phys. Rev. D 82, 063511 (2010).
  27. S. Anand, U. K. Dey, and S. Mohanty, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 03 (2017) 018.
  28. Z. C. Chen, C. Yuan, and Q. G. Huang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 25 (2020).
  29. D. Grasso and H. R. Rubinstein, Phys. Rep. 348, 163 (2001).
  30. K. Subramanian, Rep. Prog. Phys. 79, 076901 (2016).
  31. V. Skokov, A. Y. Illarionov, and V. Toneev, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 24, 5925 (2009).
  32. G. S. Bali, F. Bruckmann, G. Endrodi, Z. Fodor, S. D. Katz, S. Krieg, A. Schafer, and K. K. Szabo, J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2012) 044.
  33. G. S. Bali, F. Bruckmann, G. Endrodi, Z. Fodor, S. D. Katz, and A. Schafer, Phys. Rev. D 86, 071502 (2012).
  34. E. M. Ilgenfritz, M. Muller-Preussker, B. Petersson, and A. Schreiber, Phys. Rev. D 89, 054512 (2014).
  35. V. P. Gusynin, V. A. Miransky, and I. A. Shovkovy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 3499 (1994); 76, 1005(E) (1996).
  36. V. A. Miransky and I. A. Shovkovy, Phys. Rev. D 66, 045006 (2002).
  37. R. Gatto and M. Ruggieri, Phys. Rev. D 83, 034016 (2011).
  38. F. Preis, A. Rebhan, and A. Schmitt, J. High Energy Phys. 03 (2011) 033.
  39. M. D’Elia and F. Negro, Phys. Rev. D 83, 114028 (2011).
  40. K. Fukushima and J. M. Pawlowski, Phys. Rev. D 86, 076013 (2012).
  41. R. L. S. Farias, K. P. Gomes, G. I. Krein, and M. B. Pinto, Phys. Rev. C 90, 025203 (2014).
  42. D. Dudal, D. R. Granado, and T. G. Mertens, Phys. Rev. D 93, 125004 (2016).
  43. K. A. Mamo, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2015) 121.
  44. A. J. Mizher, M. N. Chernodub, and E. S. Fraga, Phys. Rev. D 82, 105016 (2010).
  45. K. C. Han, R. J. Fries, and C. M. Ko, Phys. Rev. C 93, 045207 (2016).
  46. J. M. Maldacena, Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 2, 231 (1998).
  47. E. Witten, Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 2, 253 (1998).
  48. S. S. Gubser, I. R. Klebanov, and A. M. Polyakov, Phys. Lett. B 428, 105 (1998).
  49. M. Ahmadvand and K. Bitaghsir Fadafan, Phys. Lett. B 772, 747 (2017).
  50. S. L. Li, L. Shao, P. Wu, and H. Yu, Phys. Rev. D 104, 043510 (2021).
  51. Z. C. Chen, S. L. Li, P. Wu, and H. Yu, Phys. Rev. D 109, 043022 (2024).
  52. M. Ahmadvand and K. Bitaghsir Fadafan, Phys. Lett. B 779, 1 (2018).
  53. S. Rezapour, K. Bitaghsir Fadafan, and M. Ahmadvand, Ann. Phys. (Amsterdam) 437, 168731 (2022).
  54. S. Rezapour, K. Bitaghsir Fadafan, and M. Ahmadvand, Phys. Scr. 97, 035301 (2022).
  55. Y. Chen, M. Huang, and Q. S. Yan, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2018) 178.
  56. F. R. Ares, M. Hindmarsh, C. Hoyos, and N. Jokela, J. High Energy Phys. 21 (2020) 100.
  57. R. G. Cai, S. He, L. Li, and Y. X. Wang, Phys. Rev. D 106, L121902 (2022).
  58. S. He, L. Li, Z. Li, and S. J. Wang, Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 67, 240411 (2024).
  59. S. He, L. Li, S. Wang, and S. J. Wang, Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 68 (2025) 210411.
  60. Y. Chen, D. Li, and M. Huang, J. High Energy Phys. 07 (2023) 225.
  61. Z. R. Zhu, J. Chen, and D. Hou, Eur. Phys. J. A 58, 104 (2022).
  62. Z. Zhu, M. Sun, R. Zhou, J. Han, and D. Hou, Universe 10, 224 (2024).
  63. E. D’Hoker and P. Kraus, J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2009) 088.
  64. E. D’Hoker and P. Kraus, J. High Energy Phys. 03 (2010) 095.
  65. C. P. Herzog, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 091601 (2007).
  66. S. J. Huber and T. Konstandin, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 09 (2008) 022.
  67. R. Jinno and M. Takimoto, Phys. Rev. D 95, 024009 (2017).
  68. M. Hindmarsh, S. J. Huber, K. Rummukainen, and D. J. Weir, Phys. Rev. D 96, 103520 (2017); 101, 089902(E) (2020).
  69. P. Binetruy, A. Bohe, C. Caprini, and J. F. Dufaux, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 06 (2012) 027.
  70. K. Agashe, P. Du, M. Ekhterachian, S. Kumar, and R. Sundrum, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2020) 086.

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 114, 046020– Published 24 August, 2026
  • Received 24 March 2026
  • Accepted 20 July 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation