Disruption of Cosmic String Wakes by Gaussian Fluctuations

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stability of cosmic string wakes against Gaussian fluctuations, finding conditions under which they remain detectable across different redshifts, aiding future observational searches.

Contribution

It introduces a stability criterion for cosmic string wakes against Gaussian fluctuations, applicable across various string tensions and cosmic times.

Findings

Wakes with Gμ=10^{-7} are stable until redshift z=6.

Wakes with Gμ=10^{-14} are stable beyond redshift z=20.

Wakes created after t_{eq} are identifiable up to the present, regardless of Gμ.

Abstract

We study the stability of cosmic string wakes against the disruption by the dominant Gaussian fluctuations which are present in cosmological models. We find that for a string tension given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$ wakes remain locally stable until a redshift of $z = 6$, and for a value of $G \mu = 10^{-14}$ they are stable beyond a redshift of $z = 20$. We study a global stability criterion which shows that wakes created by strings at times after $t_{eq}$ are identifiable up to the present time, independent of the value of $G \mu$. Taking into account our criteria it is possible to develop strategies to search for the distinctive position space signals in cosmological maps which are induced by wakes.