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arXiv · 2602.07951

Scalar-induced gravitational waves and primordial black holes from a localized bump or dip feature in a single-field inflationary potential

Xiang Zhang·Zhao-Huan Yu
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Abstract

We study the production of scalar-induced gravitational waves and primordial black holes in a single-field inflation model with a localized bump or dip feature in the potential. Introducing such a localized feature temporarily decelerates the slow-roll inflaton, amplifying the primordial curvature power spectrum into a sharp peak. Consequently, this enhancement sources a significant stochastic background of gravitational waves and leads to abundant formation of primordial black holes. Through eight benchmark cases, we show that the predicted abundances of primordial black holes can remain compatible with current observational limits, while the corresponding gravitational wave spectra peaking across a wide range of frequencies are accessible to future gravitational wave experiments in multiple observational bands.

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Xiang Zhang, Zhao-Huan Yu. 2026-02-08. Scalar-induced gravitational waves and primordial black holes from a localized bump or dip feature in a single-field inflationary potential. https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.07951

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