Cosmic Strings as Emitters of Extremely High Energy Neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper investigates how cosmic string kinks can emit massive particles called moduli, which decay into high-energy neutrinos detectable by future telescopes, providing a new way to study cosmic strings and supersymmetry.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for neutrino production from cosmic string kinks via moduli emission, linking cosmic string physics with high-energy neutrino astronomy.

Findings

Neutrino flux with energies >10^{11} GeV predicted from cosmic string kinks.

Potential detectability of these neutrinos by upcoming telescopes like JEM-EUSO, LOFAR, and SKA.

Dependence of neutrino signals on string tension and moduli properties.

Abstract

We study massive particle radiation from cosmic string kinks, and its observability in extremely high energy neutrinos. In particular, we consider the emission of moduli --- weakly coupled scalar particles predicted in supersymmetric theories --- from the kinks of cosmic string loops. Since kinks move at the speed of light on strings, moduli are emitted with large Lorentz factors, and eventually decay into many pions and neutrinos via hadronic cascades. The produced neutrino flux has energy $E \gtrsim 10^{11} \rm{GeV}$, and is affected by oscillations and absorption (resonant and non-resonant). It is observable at upcoming neutrino telescopes such as JEM-EUSO, and the radio telescopes LOFAR and SKA, for a range of values of the string tension, and of the mass and coupling constant of the moduli.