Distance-dependent interaction between cosmic strings inspired by higher-dimensional gauge theory

TL;DR

This paper investigates the distance-dependent interactions between cosmic strings derived from higher-dimensional gauge theories, revealing a switch from attraction to repulsion and providing new insights into string interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of ANO strings influenced by higher-dimensional gauge theories, highlighting distance-dependent interaction behaviors not seen in traditional models.

Findings

Interaction force switches from attraction to repulsion at certain parameters

Distance determines the nature of interstring forces for different scalar potentials

New perspective on cosmic string interactions based on higher-dimensional theories

Abstract

We discuss Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen (ANO) strings with the one-loop effective potentials induced by higher-dimensional gauge theory. As our starting point, we consider a five-dimensional $SU(2)$ gauge theory with an extra-dimensional space $S^1/Z_2$. We numerically show the properties of the strings in our model. Especially, we investigate the interaction force between two parallel strings. We find that the interaction force switches from attraction to repulsion as two strings approach each other at a certain parameter region. This interaction is not observed for the ANO strings with the Mexican hat potential. Furthermore, we find that each different factor determines the interaction between large and small interstring distances. We interpret this difference as the origin of the distance-dependent interaction. Our interpretation can also be applied to other scalar potentials. The results in our study give us a new perspective to understand the interaction between the ANO strings with various scalar potentials.