Stochastic background of gravitational waves from cosmological sources

Abstract: Gravitational waves (GW) can constitute a unique probe of the primordial universe. In many cases, the characteristic frequency of the emitted GW is directly related to the energy scale at which the GW source is operating in the early universe. Consequently, different GW detectors can probe different energy scales in the evolution of the universe. After a general introduction on the properties of a GW stochastic background of primordial origin, some examples of cosmological sources are presented, which may lead to observable GW signals.