Related papers: Cosmic String Cusps with Small-Scale Structure: Th…
We make use of the formalism described in a previous paper [Martins {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. D90 (2014) 043518] to address general features of wiggly cosmic string evolution. In particular, we highlight the important role played by poorly…
Cosmic string loops contain cusps which decay by emitting bursts of particles. A significant fraction of the released energy is in the form of photons. These photons are injected non-thermally and can hence cause spectral distortions of the…
When moduli roll in the early universe, all physical scales - including string tensions - simultaneously evolve. The dynamics of cosmic string loops with time-varying tension can produce cosmic string loop trackers in which most of the…
We compute the stochastic gravitational wave background generated by cosmic superstrings using a semi-analytical velocity-dependent model to describe their dynamics. We show that heavier string types may leave distinctive signatures on the…
We study the deflection of light in the background of a "wiggly" cosmic string, and investigate whether it is possible to detect cosmic strings by means of weak gravitational lensing. For straight strings without small-scale structure there…
The wave effect in the gravitational lensing phenomenon by a straight cosmic string is investigated. The interference pattern is expressed in terms of a simple formula. We demonstrate that modulations of the interfered wave amplitude can be…
Observational effects of cosmic string loops depend on how loops are distributed in space. Chernoff \cite{Chernoff} has argued that loops can be gravitationally captured in galaxies and that for sufficiently small values of $G\mu$ their…
We consider a population of small, high-velocity cosmic string loops. We assume the typical length of these loops is determined by the gravitational radiation scale and use the results of \cite{Polchinski:2007rg} which pointed out their…
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…
We consider the gravitational lensing produced by long cosmic strings formed in a GUT scale phase transition. We derive a formula for the deflection of photons which pass near the strings that reduces to an integral over the light cone…
We examine the effects of cosmic strings on structure formation and on the ionization history of the universe. While Gaussian perturbations from inflation are known to provide the dominant contribution to the large scale structure of the…
We discuss some hitherto puzzling features of the small-scale structure of cosmic strings. We argue that kinks play a key role, and that an important quantity to study is their sharpness distribution. In particular we suggest that for very…
Using recent simulation results, we provide the mass and speed spectrum of cosmic string loops. This is the quantity of primary interest for many phenomenological signatures of cosmic strings, and it can be accurately predicted using…
We describe the formalism of a quantitative analytic model for the evolution of realistic wiggly (as opposed to Goto-Nambu) cosmic strings. The model is particularly suited for describing the evolution of small-scale structure on string…
Cusps of cosmic strings emit strong beams of high-frequency gravitational waves (GW). As a consequence of these beams, the stochastic ensemble of gravitational waves generated by a cosmological network of oscillating loops is strongly non…
We develop a semi-analytical model to describe the cosmological evolution of networks of cosmic strings with small-scale structure, by extending the velocity-dependent one-scale model to include an additional lengthscale describing the…
In the standard picture of cosmic strings, cusps are generic features of Nambu-Goto loops where the string momentarily reaches the speed of light. They have a characteristic sharp profile, following $y \sim x^{2/3}$ in the $(x,y)$ plane,…
The linearly polarized gravitational waveforms from a certain type of rotating, evaporating cosmic string - the Allen-Casper-Ottewill loop - are constructed and plotted over the lifetime of the loop. The formulas for the waveforms are…
The coupling of a stringlike fluid with ordinary matter and gravity may lead to a closed Universe with the dynamic of an open one. This can provide an alternative solution for the age and horizon problems. A study of density perturbations…
The geometric properties of spacetimes representing expanding impulsive gravitational waves, propagating on a flat background and generated by snapped cosmic strings, are studied. The construction of the line element is reviewed, and…