Conversion of relic gravitational waves into photons in cosmological magnetic fields

Abstract

Conversion of gravitational waves into electromagnetic radiation is discussed. The probability of transformations of gravitons into photons in presence of cosmological background magnetic field is calculated at the recombination epoch and during subsequent cosmological stages. The produced electromagnetic radiation is concentrated in the X-ray part of the spectrum. It is shown that if the early Universe was dominated by primordial black holes (PBHs) prior to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), the relic gravitons emitted by PBHs would transform to an almost isotropic background of electromagnetic radiation due to conversion of gravitons into photons in cosmological magnetic fields. Such extragalactic radiation could be noticeable or even dominant component of Cosmic X-ray Background. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl.