Related papers: Cosmic Ray Positrons from Cosmic Strings
We re-visit the production of cosmic rays by cusps on cosmic strings. If a scalar field (``Higgs'') has a linear interaction with the string world-sheet, such as would occur if there is a bosonic condensate on the string, cusps on string…
Topological defects, particularly cosmic strings, can provide a mechanism to produce particles with energies of the order 10^21 eV and higher. Here, we report on order of magnitude calculations of fluxes from a cosmic string network which…
It has been speculated that cosmic string networks could produce ultra-high energy cosmic rays as a by-product of their evolution. By making use of recent work on the evolution of such networks, it will be shown that the flux of cosmic rays…
We calculate the flux of ultra high energy photons from individual ordinary (i.e. non-superconducting) cosmic strings and compare the results with the sensitivity of current and proposed TeV and EeV telescopes. Our calculations give only…
The hypothesis that the entire cosmic ray spectrum, from $\lesssim1\,{\rm GeV}$ to $\gtrsim100\,{\rm EeV}$ energy, can be accounted for by diffusive shock acceleration on increasingly large scales is critically examined. Specifically, it is…
We investigate the possibility of secondary production as the source of cosmic ray (CR) positrons, taking into account observed electron and antiproton spectra and allowing that the reported steepening in the AMS-02 positron spectrum may be…
Making use of the wealth of new observational data coming from the sky it is possible to constrain particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model. One way to do this is illustrated in this article: a subset of theories admits cosmic…
The topological defect scenario of origin of the observed highest energy cosmic rays is reviewed. Under a variety of circumstances, topological defects formed in the early Universe can be sources of very massive particles in the Universe…
Despite significant efforts over the past decade, the origin of the cosmic ray positron excess has still not been unambiguously established. A popular class of candidate sources are pulsars or pulsar wind nebulae but these cannot also…
Decaying topological defects, in particular cosmic strings, can produce a significant flux of high energy neutrinos, photons and cosmic rays. According to the prevailing understanding of cosmic string dynamics in an expanding Universe, the…
The origin of Galactic cosmic rays remains a matter of debate, but supernova remnants are commonly considered to be the main place where high-energy cosmic rays are accelerated. Nevertheless, current models predict cosmic-ray spectra that…
Recently, the PAMELA, FERMI, HESS, and ATIC instruments have discovered interesting spectral features in the positron to total electron ratio and in the total electronic component of cosmic rays at high energy. These observations are…
The order of magnitude of energy emission from cusps to light bosons on ordinary cosmic strings is calculated perturbatively. The analysis is applicable to both closed string loops and long cosmic strings. The perturbative result obtained…
Superstring theory and other supersymmetric theories predict the existence of relatively light, weakly interacting scalar particles, called moduli, with a universal form of coupling to matter. Such particles can be emitted from cusps of…
Magnetic fields can be generated in cosmic string wakes due to the Biermann mechanism in the presence of neutrino inhomogeneities. As the cosmic string moves through the plasma the small magnetic field is amplified by the turbulence in the…
We revisit the idea that cosmic strings could source fast radio bursts by taking into account Lorentz boosts and a weaker assumption about the scaling law for the energy of particle decay. We show that the distance relation and time scale,…
We study massive particle radiation from cosmic string kinks, and its observability in extremely high energy neutrinos. In particular, we consider the emission of moduli --- weakly coupled scalar particles predicted in supersymmetric…
The formation of cusps on long cosmic strings is discussed and the probability of cusp formation is estimated. The energy distribution of the gamma-ray background due to cusp annihilation on long strings is calculated and compared to…
We show that the flux of the high-energy cosmic ray positrons observed near Earth is that expected from the decay of mesons produced by the primary cosmic rays (CRs) in the local interstellar medium.
We investigate cosmic sparks from cusps on superconducting cosmic strings in light of the recently discovered millisecond radio burst by Lorimer et al [1]. We find that the observed duration, fluence, spectrum, and event rate can be…