Gravitational waves from the minimal gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ model

Abstract

An additional $U(1)$ gauge interaction is one of promising extensions of the standard model of particle physics. Among others, the $U(1)_{B-L}$ gauge symmetry is particularly interesting because it addresses the origin of Majorana masses of right-handed neutrinos, which naturally leads to tiny light neutrino masses through the seesaw mechanism. We show that, based on the minimal $U(1)_{B-L}$ model, the symmetry breaking of the extra $U(1)$ gauge symmetry with its minimal Higgs sector in the early Universe can exhibit the first-order phase transition and hence generate a large enough amplitude of stochastic gravitational wave radiation which is detectable in future experiments.