From Quantum Fluctuations to Cosmic Ripples: Gravitational Waves from Inflation
Primordial gravitational waves offer a rare opportunity to probe physics at energies far beyond the reach of terrestrial experiments, opening a unique window onto the very early universe. In this talk, I will explore how inflationary models beyond the simplest single-field picture can generate distinctive gravitational-wave signatures, and what this means for testing inflation with current and future interferometers. I will also discuss how anisotropies in the gravitational-wave energy density could become a powerful new probe of the inflationary era, with the potential to disentangle an inflationary background from those produced by other cosmic processes.