Synchrotron radiation of superconducting cosmic strings

Abstract

Cosmic strings are topological defects which can be formed during the symmetry breaking phase transitions in the early Universe. Their existence finds support in modern superstring theories, both in compactification models and in theories with extended additional dimensions. Strings predicted in most grand unified models respond to external electromagnetic fields as thin superconducting wires. As they move through the cosmic magnetic fields, strings develop tremendous electric currents. Superconducting cosmic strings can serve as powerful sources of nonthermal radiation in a wide energy range, viz. as synchrotron radiation of electrons accelerated by bow shock waves which are created by the magnetosphere of strings moving relativistically through the intergalactic medium (IGM). Calculations of the expected radiation fluxes show that for typical parameters of the strings and the IGM the existing detectors can see loops at average string distances. According to our calculations they can also be observed if they are located in clusters of galaxies. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

SU(1,1) solutions for the relativistic quantum particle in cosmic string spacetime

“…Expansion during the first moments of the Universe leads to evolution of these strings which form an infinitely long network of strings and loops [4]. At the same time, cosmic strings are also analogous to those found in flux tubes in type-II superconductors [5], [6], [7], [8]. When it comes to the geometry of a single cosmic string, there are various studies done for the geometry generated by them [9], [10], [11] and for the massless ones can be found in [12].…”

Lumpy cosmic strings

“…Superconducting strings, moving through a cosmic plasma in the presence of a magnetic field B, are sources of synchrotron radiation, which may be observed at centimeter wavelengths. The energy of this radiation can be estimated using the formula [8,34,35]…”