Cosmic (super)strings with a time-varying tension

TL;DR

This paper explores how cosmic (super)strings with time-varying tension affect the evolution of string networks, revealing novel phenomena and implications for gravitational wave signals.

Contribution

It generalizes the Velocity One Scale model to include time-dependent tension, analyzing its effects on string network dynamics and phenomenology.

Findings

Long-string and loop behaviors are significantly altered by tension variation.

New phenomena such as growing loops and percolation are identified.

Implications for gravitational wave emission are discussed.

Abstract

Cosmic (super)strings offer promising ways to test ideas about the early universe and physics at high energies. While in field theory constructions their tension is usually assumed to be constant (or at most slowly-varying), this is often not the case in the context of String Theory. Indeed, the tensions of both fundamental and field theory strings within a string compactification depend on the expectation values of the moduli, which in turn can vary with time. We discuss how the evolution of a cosmic string network changes with a time-dependent tension, both for long-strings and closed loops, by providing an appropriate generalisation of the Velocity One Scale (VOS) model and its implications. The resulting phenomenology is very rich, exhibiting novel features such as growing loops, percolation and a radiation-like behaviour of the long string network. We conclude with a few remarks on the impact for gravitational wave emission.