Cosmic Strings in Hidden Sectors: 1. Radiation of Standard Model Particles

TL;DR

This paper investigates the radiation and scattering of Standard Model particles by cosmic strings in hidden U(1) gauge sectors, providing calculations relevant for understanding their cosmological and observational implications.

Contribution

It introduces detailed calculations of particle radiation spectra and scattering cross sections for dark strings interacting with Standard Model particles, a novel analysis in hidden sector models.

Findings

Calculated the spectrum of Higgs, Z bosons, and fermions emitted by dark strings.

Determined scattering cross sections of fermions on dark strings via Aharonov-Bohm effect.

Provided groundwork for future studies on cosmological evolution and observational signatures.

Abstract

In hidden sector models with an extra U(1) gauge group, new fields can interact with the Standard Model only through gauge kinetic mixing and the Higgs portal. After the U(1) is spontaneously broken, these interactions couple the resultant cosmic strings to Standard Model particles. We calculate the spectrum of radiation emitted by these "dark strings" in the form of Higgs bosons, Z bosons, and Standard Model fermions assuming that string tension is above the TeV scale. We also calculate the scattering cross sections of Standard Model fermions on dark strings due to the Aharonov-Bohm interaction. These radiation and scattering calculations will be applied in a subsequent paper to study the cosmological evolution and observational signatures of dark strings.