Probing the gravitational wave signature from cosmic phase transitions at different scales

We present a new signature by which one could potentially discriminate between a spectrum of gravitational radiation generated by a self-ordering scalar field vs that of inflation, specifically a comparison of the magnitude of a flat spectrum at frequencies probed by future direct detection experiments to the magnitude of a possible polarization signal in the cosmic microwave background radiation. In the process we clarify several issues related to the proper calculation of such modes, focusing on the effect of post-horizon-crossing evolution.