Phase transitions and magnetic monopoles in SO(10)

In a unified gauge theory based on SO(10), the combination of a strongly first order phase transition and a magnetic confinement mechanism can suppress the density of magnetic monopoles at the time of nucleosynthesis. However, this only occurs if SO(10) breaks down to SU(3)_c ? U (1)_em via SU(4)_c ? [SU(2)_L × SU(2)_R]. For the other symmetry breaking patterns of SO(10) obtained with a minimal Higgs system, the potential conflict with the standard big bang cosmology is not naturally avoided.