Are fast radio bursts generated by cosmic string cusps?

TL;DR

This paper examines whether cosmic string cusps could produce fast radio bursts, finding that while some observational features are compatible, the predicted event rate is too high, and realistic string models pose additional challenges.

Contribution

The study revisits cosmic string cusp models for fast radio bursts, incorporating Lorentz boosts and weaker energy assumptions, and discusses how realistic string properties affect the model's viability.

Findings

Distance relation and time scale are compatible with observations.

Predicted event rate is too high compared to data.

Finite thickness of strings prevents cusp formation, challenging the model.

Abstract

We revisit the idea that cosmic strings could source fast radio bursts by taking into account Lorentz boosts and a weaker assumption about the scaling law for the energy of particle decay. We show that the distance relation and time scale, for a specific value of the scaling of energy, are still compatible with observations. However, the event rate predicted by the model is too high when compared to the data. We additionally show that a more realistic string, with a finite thickness, further compounds the problem by prohibiting cusp formation and point out how a superconducting wiggly string could circumvent this issue.