Implications of cosmic string-induced density fluctuations at the quark-hadron transition

We show that cosmic strings moving through the plasma at the time of a first-order quark-hadron transition in the early universe generate baryon inhomogeneities, which can survive till the nucleosynthesis epoch. We find out how these inhomogeneities actually affect the calculated values of the light element abundances. Recently a wealth of observational data from various experiments have helped to reduce the uncertainties in the values of these abundances. Using these we show that it is possible to derive constraints in the presence of cosmic strings during the quark-hadron transition.     

Quark matter in astrophysics and cosmology

We discuss the role of quark matter in astrophysics and cosmology. The implications of the dynamics of the quark-hadron phase transition in the early universe for the element abundances from big gang nucleosynthesis and the composition of the dark matter in the universe are addressed. We discuss the possibility of deciding on an equation of state for high density matter by observing the cooling of a neutron star remnant of SN1987A. Quark matter models for the Centauros events, Cygnus X-3 cosmic ray events, high energy gamma-ray bursts and the solar neutrino problem are described.     

QCD phase transition in the inhomogeneous universe

We investigate a new mechanism for the cosmological QCD phase transition: inhomogeneous nucleation. The primordial temperature fluctuations, measured to be deltaT/T approximately 10(-5), are larger than the tiny temperature interval in which bubbles would form in the standard picture of homogeneous nucleation. Thus the bubbles nucleate at cold spots. We find the typical distance between bubble centers to be a few meters. This exceeds the estimates from homogeneous nucleation by 2 orders of magnitude. The resulting baryon inhomogeneities may affect primordial nucleosynthesis.     

A natural way out of the conflict between cosmic strings and inflation

The phase transition which produces cosmic strings is studied in curved spacetime. It is shown that cosmic string formation naturally takes place in the late inflationary stage if the string-forming scalar field is appropriately coupled with the spacetime curvature. As a result the cosmic string scenario of galaxy formation turns out to be compatible with inflation.     

Effect of pre-existing baryon inhomogeneities on the dynamics of quark-hadron transition

Baryon number inhomogeneities may be generated during the epoch when the baryon asymmetry of the universe is produced, e.g. at the electroweak phase transition. These lumps will have a lower temperature than the background. Also the value ofT _c will be different in these regions. Since a first-order quark-hadron (Q–H) transition is susceptible to small changes in temperature, we investigate the effect of the presence of such baryonic lumps on the dynamics of the Q–H transition. We find that the phase transition is delayed in these lumps for significant overdensities. Consequently, we argue that baryon concentration in these regions grows by the end of the transition. We mention some models which may give rise to such high baryon overdensities before the Q–H transition.     

Gravitational-wave stochastic background from cosmic strings

We consider the stochastic background of gravitational waves produced by a network of cosmic strings and assess their accessibility to current and planned gravitational wave detectors, as well as to big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), cosmic microwave background (CMB), and pulsar timing constraints. We find that current data from interferometric gravitational wave detectors, such as Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), are sensitive to areas of parameter space of cosmic string models complementary to those accessible to pulsar, BBN, and CMB bounds. Future more sensitive LIGO runs and interferometers such as Advanced LIGO and Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be able to explore substantial parts of the parameter space.     

Radio jets and galaxies as cosmic string probes

The lensing effect of a cosmic string is studied, and some new methods are proposed to detect the cosmic string. The technique for using jets as extended gravitational lensing probes was first explored by Kronberg.We use the “alignment-breaking parameter” ηG as a sensitive indicator of gravitational distortion by a wiggly cosmic string. Then, we applied the non-constant deflection angle to jets, and ηG of a specific jet is just related to the projected slope of the jet. At least three jets in the sample of Square Kilometer Array (SKA) would have significant signals (ηG>10°) if the wiggly infinite cosmic string existed. The distortion of elliptical object is also studied and used to do a statistical research on the directions of axes and ellipticities of galaxies. In the direction of the string, we find that galaxies appear to be more elliptical for an observer and the distribution of apparent ellipticity changes correspondingly. The ellipticity distribution of current SDSS spiral sample has the signalto-noise ratio up to 8.48 which is large enough for astronomical observations. The future survey, such as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and Dark Energy Survey (DES) would weaken the requirement of special geometry in the data processing. As a result, all kinds of distributions, including ellipticity axis distribution, would serve as probes to detect wiggly strings in the near future. In brief, if a wiggly cosmic string existed, these signals would be convenient to be observed with the future weak lensing survey or other surveys in the deep space. If there was no lensing signal in these distributions, it would give the upper limit of the abundance of infinite strings.     

Primordial beryllium as a big bang calorimeter

Many models of new physics including variants of supersymmetry predict metastable long-lived particles that can decay during or after primordial nucleosynthesis, releasing significant amounts of nonthermal energy. The hadronic energy injection in these decays leads to the formation of ?Be via the chain of nonequilibrium transformations: Energy(h)→T, 3He→?He, ?Li→?Be. We calculate the efficiency of this transformation and show that if the injection happens at cosmic times of a few hours the release of O(10 MeV) per baryon can be sufficient for obtaining a sizable ?Be abundance. The absence of a plateau structure in the ?Be/H abundance down to a O(10?1?) level allows one to use beryllium as a robust constraint on new physics models with decaying or annihilating particles.     

String theories and millisecond pulsars

We discuss the two ways of connecting string theories (cosmic, fundamental and the connection between them) to the observational reality: (i) radioastronomy observations (millisecond pulsar timing), and (ii) elementary particle phenomenology (compactification schemes). We study the limits imposed on the string parameter Gμ by recent millisecond pulsar timings. Cosmic strings derived from GUTs agree with (i). For cosmic strings derived from fundamental strings themselves there is contradiction between (i) and (ii). One of these scenarios connecting string theory to reality must be revised (or the transition from fundamental into cosmic strings rejected). Meanwhile, millisecond pulsar can select one scenario, or reject both of them.     

Collisions of strings with Y junctions

We study the dynamics of Nambu-Goto strings with junctions at which three strings meet. In particular, we exhibit one simple exact solution and examine the process of intercommuting of two straight strings in which they exchange partners but become joined by a third string. We show that there are important kinematical constraints on this process. The exchange cannot occur if the strings meet with very large relative velocity. This may have important implications for the evolution of cosmic superstring networks and non-Abelian string networks.     

Analytic solutions in the dyon black hole with a cosmic string: Scalar fields,Hawking radiation and energy flux

Charged massive scalar fields are considered in the gravitational and electromagnetic field produced by a dyonic black hole with a cosmic string along its axis of symmetry. Exact solutions of both angular and radial parts of the covariant Klein–Gordon equation in this background are obtained, and are given in terms of the confluent Heun functions. The role of the presence of the cosmic string in these solutions is showed up. From the radial solution, we obtain the exact wave solutions near the exterior horizon of the black hole, and discuss the Hawking radiation spectrum and the energy flux.     

The evolution of circular loops of a cosmic string with periodic tension

In this Letter the equation of circular loops of cosmic string with periodic tension is investigated in the Minkowski spacetime and Robertson–Walker universe respectively. We find that the cosmic string loops possessing this kind of time-varying tension will evolve to oscillate instead of collapsing to form a black hole if their initial radii are not small enough.     

Cosmological constraints on bulk neutrinos

Recent models invoking extra space-like dimensions inhabited by (bulk) neutrinos are shown to have significant cosmological effects if the size of the largest extra dimension is R greater, similar 1 fm. We consider effects on cosmic microwave background anisotropies, big bang nucleosynthesis, deuterium and 6Li photoproduction, diffuse photon backgrounds, and structure formation. The resulting constraints can be stronger than either bulk graviton overproduction constraints or laboratory constraints.     

Primordial black hole formation by stabilized embedded strings in the early universe

Primordial black hole formation by cosmic string collapses is reconsidered in the case where the winding number of the string is larger than unity. The line energy density of a multiple winding string becomes greater than that of a single winding string so that the probability of black hole formation by string collapse during loop oscillation would be strongly enhanced. Moreover, this probability could be affected by changes in gravity theory due to large extra dimensions based on the brane universe model. In addition, a wider class of strings which are stable compared to conventional cosmic strings can contribute to such a scenario. Although the production of the multiple winding defect is suppressed and its number density should be small, the enhancement of black hole formation by the increased energy density may provide a large number of evaporating black holes in the present universe which gives more stringent constraints on the string model compared to the ordinary string scenario.     

Stable charged cosmic strings

We study the quantum stabilization of a cosmic string by a heavy fermion doublet in a reduced version of the standard model. We show that charged strings, obtained by populating fermionic bound state levels, become stable if the electroweak bosons are coupled to a fermion that is less than twice as heavy as the top quark. This result suggests that extraordinarily large fermion masses or unrealistic couplings are not required to bind a cosmic string in the standard model. Numerically we find the most favorable string profile to be a simple trough in the Higgs vacuum expectation value of radius ≈10(-18) m. The vacuum remains stable in our model, because neutral strings are not energetically favored.     

Gravitational Aharonov-Bohm Effect

We study a purely gravitational Aharonov-Bohm effect. The space-time curvature is concentrated in the quasiregular singularity of a cosmic string, outside of which space-time is (locally) flat. The symmetries of this field configuration are described by the groupoid symmetries rather than by the usual group symmetries. The groupoid in question is formed by homotopy classes of piecewise smooth paths in the cosmic string region. A gravitational counterpart of the Aharonov-Bohm effect occurs if the symmetry of the system, with respect to the groupoid action, is broken down.     

Destruction of Fermion Zero Modes on Cosmic Strings

I examine the existence of zero-energy fermionsolutions (zero modes) on cosmic strings in an SO (10)grand unified theory. The current-carrying capability ofa cosmic string formed at one phase transition can be modified at subsequent phasetransitions. I show that the zero modes may be destroyedand the conductivity of the string altered. I discussthe cosmological implications of this, and show that it allows vorton bounds to be relaxed.     

Strong Field Gravitational Lensing in a Magnetic Charged Reissner-Nordstr?m Black Hole Pierced by a Cosmic String

The principal focus of this paper is to study the strong field gravitational lensing in a magnetic charged Reissner-Nordstr?m black hole based on the method of cosmic string. We obtain the new coefficients including the tension of the cosmic strings, the strong field deflection limit coefficients, the deflection angle and the magnification, and obtain the relationship between the cosmic string parameter and the new coefficients. The result shows that the cosmic strings have some important effect on the gravitational lensing in a black hole when they pierce it.     

Discrete Spectrum of the Deficit Angle and the Differential Structure of a Cosmic String

Differential properties of Klein-Gordon and electromagnetic fields on the space-time of a straight cosmic string are studied with the help of methods of the differential space theory. It is shown that these fields are smooth in the interior of the cosmic string space-time and that they loose this property at the singular boundary except for the cosmic string space-times with the following deficit angles: Δ=2π(1−1/n), n=1,2,… . A connection between smoothness of fields at the conical singularity and the scalar and electromagnetic conical bremsstrahlung is discussed. It is also argued that the smoothness assumption of fields at the singularity is equivalent to the Aliev and Gal’tsov “quantization” condition leading to the above mentioned discrete spectrum of the deficit angle.     

Cosmological experiments in liquid He: status and prospects

A recent experiment, in which a small volume of liquid ⁴He is expanded rapidly through the lambda transition to model the mechanism of cosmic string creation in the early universe, is reviewed. New data are presented, suggesting that, although most of the quantized vortices generated in the expansion are created (like cosmic strings) by passage through the phase transition at a finite speed, a proportion of them are probably produced through more conventional processes. Possible ways of redesigning the experiment, so as to reduce the latter extraneous vortex creation processes, are discussed.