Related papers: Cosmic string loop production functions
We analytically derive the expected number density distribution of Nambu-Goto cosmic string loops at any redshift soon after the time of string formation to today. Our approach is based on the Polchinski-Rocha model of loop formation from…
We investigate the evolution of the global string network in the radiation dominated universe by use of numerical simulations in 3+1 dimensions. We find that the global string network settles down to the scaling regime where the energy…
We study the spectrum of loops as a part of a complete network of cosmic strings in flat spacetime. After a long transient regime, characterized by production of small loops at the scale of the initial conditions, it appears that a true…
We study the production of loops in the cosmic string network in the expanding background by means of a numerical simulation exact in the flat-spacetime limit and first-order in the expansion rate. We find an initial regime characterized by…
We extend our earlier model of the small scale structure of cosmic string networks through an improved treatment of the separation of long and short scales. We find that the production of small loops (at the gravitational radiation scale)…
We develop an analytical model to study the production spectrum of loops in the cosmic string network. In the scaling regime, we find two different scales corresponding to large (one order below horizon) and small (few orders below horizon)…
Cosmic strings may have formed in the early universe due to the Kibble mechanism. While string networks are usually modeled as being of Nambu-Goto type, this description is understood to be a convenient approximation, which neglects the…
We determine the distribution of cosmic string loops directly from simulations, rather than determining the loop production function and inferring the loop distribution from that. For a wide range of loop lengths, the results agree well…
We examine the scaling properties of an evolving network of strings in Minkowski spacetime and study the evolution of length scales in terms of a 3-scale model proposed by Austin, Copeland and Kibble (ACK). We find good qualitative and some…
Cosmic strings are topological defects which can be formed in GUT-scale phase transitions in the early universe. They are also predicted to form in the context of string theory. The main mechanism for a network of Nambu-Goto cosmic strings…
Classical lattice simulations of the Abelian Higgs model are used to investigate small scale structure and loop distributions in cosmic string networks. Use of the field theory ensures that the small-scale physics is captured correctly. The…
The existence of a scaling evolution for cosmic string loops in an expanding universe is demonstrated for the first time by means of numerical simulations. In contrast with what is usually assumed, this result does not rely on any…
We perform a detailed comparison of the dynamics of cosmic string loops obtained in cosmological field theory simulations with their expected motion according to the Nambu-Goto action. We demonstrate that these loops follow the trajectories…
We study the impact of fragmentation on the cosmic string loop number density, using an approach inspired by the three-scale model and a Boltzmann equation. We build a new formulation designed to be more amenable to numerical resolution and…
If cosmic strings are formed in the early universe, their associated loops emit gravitational waves during the whole cosmic history and contribute to the stochastic gravitational wave background at all frequencies. We provide a new estimate…
The evolution of cosmic string networks is an interesting dynamical problem. The equations governing these networks are classical and fully specified, but the length scale at which cosmic string loops form has been uncertain to tens of…
The properties of string networks at scales well below the horizon are poorly understood, but they enter critically into many observables. We argue that in some regimes, stretching will be the only relevant process governing the evolution.…
We present results from a detailed numerical study of the small-scale and loop production properties of cosmic string networks, based on the largest and highest resolution string simulations to date. We investigate the non-trivial fractal…
Cosmic string networks are the best motivated relics of cosmological phase transitions, being unavoidable in many physically plausible extensions of the Standard Model. Most studies, including those providing constraints from and forecasts…
A network of cosmic strings would lead to gravitational waves which may be detected by pulsar timing or future interferometers. The details of the gravitational wave signal depend on the distribution of cosmic string loops, which are…