43 research outputs found
Abelian Higgs Cosmic Strings: Small Scale Structure and Loops
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 results confirm analytic predictions of Polchinski &
Rocha [1] for the two-point correlation function of the string tangent vector,
with a power law from length scales of order the string core width up to
horizon scale with evidence to suggest that the small scale structure builds up
from small scales. An analysis of the size distribution of string loops gives a
very low number density, of order 1 per horizon volume, in contrast with
Nambu-Goto simulations. Further, our loop distribution function does not
support the detailed analytic predictions for loop production derived by Dubath
et al. [2]. Better agreement to our data is found with a model based on loop
fragmentation [3], coupled with a constant rate of energy loss into massive
radiation. Our results show a strong energy loss mechanism which allows the
string network to scale without gravitational radiation, but which is not due
to the production of string width loops. From evidence of small scale structure
we argue a partial explanation for the scale separation problem of how energy
in the very low frequency modes of the string network is transformed into the
very high frequency modes of gauge and Higgs radiation. We propose a picture of
string network evolution which reconciles the apparent differences between
Nambu-Goto and field theory simulations.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figure
Large Radius Hagedorn Regime in String Gas Cosmology
We calculate the equation of state of a gas of strings at high density in a
large toroidal universe, and use it to determine the cosmological evolution of
background metric and dilaton fields in the entire large radius Hagedorn
regime, (ln S)^{1/d} << R << S^{1/d} (with S the total entropy). The pressure
in this regime is not vanishing but of O(1), while the equation of state is
proportional to volume, which makes our solutions significantly different from
previously published approximate solutions. For example, we are able to
calculate the duration of the high-density "Hagedorn" phase, which increases
exponentially with increasing entropy, S. We go on to discuss the difficulties
of the scenario, quantifying the problems of establishing thermal equilibrium
and producing a large but not too weakly-coupled universe.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, more details presented in string thermodynamics
section, to be published in Physical Review
Where are the Hedgehogs in Nematics?
In experiments which take a liquid crystal rapidly from the isotropic to the
nematic phase, a dense tangle of defects is formed. In nematics, there are in
principle both line and point defects (``hedgehogs''), but no point defects are
observed until the defect network has coarsened appreciably. In this letter the
expected density of point defects is shown to be extremely low, approximately
per initially correlated domain, as result of the topology
(specifically, the homology) of the order parameter space.Comment: 6 pages, latex, 1 figure (self-unpacking PostScript)
Covariant Closed String Coherent States
We give the first construction of covariant coherent closed string states,
which may be identified with fundamental cosmic strings. We outline the
requirements for a string state to describe a cosmic string, and using DDF
operators provide an explicit and simple map that relates three different
descriptions: classical strings, lightcone gauge quantum states and covariant
vertex operators. The naive construction leads to covariant vertex operators
whose existence requires a lightlike compactification of spacetime. When the
lightlike compactified states in the underlying Hilbert space are projected out
the resulting coherent states have a classical interpretation and are in
one-to-one correspondence with arbitrary classical closed string loops.Comment: 4 page
Cosmic string parameter constraints and model analysis using small scale Cosmic Microwave Background data
We present a significant update of the constraints on the Abelian Higgs
cosmic string tension by cosmic microwave background (CMB) data, enabled both
by the use of new high-resolution CMB data from suborbital experiments as well
as the latest results of the WMAP satellite, and by improved predictions for
the impact of Abelian Higgs cosmic strings on the CMB power spectra. The new
cosmic string spectra (presented in a previous work) were improved especially
for small angular scales, through the use of larger Abelian Higgs string
simulations and careful extrapolation. If Abelian Higgs strings are present
then we find improved bounds on their contribution to the CMB anisotropies,
f10< 0.095, and on their tension, G\mu< 0.57 x 10^-6, both at 95% confidence
level using WMAP7 data; and f10 < 0.048 and G\mu < 0.42 x 10^-6 using all the
CMB data. We also find that using all the CMB data, a scale invariant initial
perturbation spectrum, ns=1, is now disfavoured at 2.4\sigma\ even if strings
are present. A Bayesian model selection analysis no longer indicates a
preference for strings.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; Minor corrections, matches published versio
Numerical simulations of string networks in the Abelian-Higgs model
We present the results of a field theory simulation of networks of strings in
the Abelian Higgs model. Starting from a random initial configuration we show
that the resulting vortex tangle approaches a self-similar regime in which the
length density of lines of zeros of reduces as . We demonstrate
that the network loses energy directly into scalar and gauge radiation. These
results support a recent claim that particle production, and not gravitational
radiation, is the dominant energy loss mechanism for cosmic strings. This means
that cosmic strings in Grand Unified Theories are severely constrained by high
energy cosmic ray fluxes: either they are ruled out, or an implausibly small
fraction of their energy ends up in quarks and leptons.Comment: 4pp RevTeX, 3 eps figures, clarifications and new results included,
to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Magnetic fields in the early universe in the string approach to MHD
There is a reformulation of magnetohydrodynamics in which the fundamental
dynamical quantities are the positions and velocities of the lines of magnetic
flux in the plasma, which turn out to obey equations of motion very much like
ideal strings. We use this approach to study the evolution of a primordial
magnetic field generated during the radiation-dominated era in the early
Universe. Causality dictates that the field lines form a tangled random
network, and the string-like equations of motion, plus the assumption of
perfect reconnection, inevitably lead to a self-similar solution for the
magnetic field power spectrum. We present the predicted form of the power
spectrum, and discuss insights gained from the string approximation, in
particular the implications for the existence or not of an inverse cascade.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Large Angular Scale CMB Anisotropy Induced by Cosmic Strings
We simulate the anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) induced
by cosmic strings. By numerically evolving a network of cosmic strings we
generate full-sky CMB temperature anisotropy maps. Based on maps, we
compute the anisotropy power spectrum for multipole moments . By
comparing with the observed temperature anisotropy, we set the normalization
for the cosmic string mass-per-unit-length , obtaining , which is consistent with all other
observational constraints on cosmic strings. We demonstrate that the anisotropy
pattern is consistent with a Gaussian random field on large angular scales.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, two postscript files, also available at
http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/defects/ to appear in Physical Review
Letters, 23 September 199
The power spectra of CMB and density fluctuations seeded by local cosmic strings
We compute the power spectra in the cosmic microwave background and cold dark
matter (CDM) fluctuations seeded by strings, using the largest string
simulations performed so far to evaluate the two-point functions of their
stress energy tensor. We find that local strings differ from global defects in
that the scalar components of the stress-energy tensor dominate over vector and
tensor components. This result has far reaching consequences. We find that
cosmic strings exhibit a single Doppler peak of acceptable height at high
. They also seem to have a less severe bias problem than global defects,
although the CDM power spectrum in the ``standard'' cosmology (flat geometry,
zero cosmological constant, 5% baryonic component) is the wrong shape to fit
large scale structure data