Binary Cosmic Strings

TL;DR

This paper explores mechanisms causing asymmetry in cosmic string cores, potentially altering their microscopic and macroscopic properties, and discusses the implications for early-universe cosmology.

Contribution

It introduces mechanisms leading to asymmetric, quasi-two-dimensional cosmic string cores and investigates their effects on string physics.

Findings

Asymmetric string core structures can arise from specific mechanisms.

Internal asymmetry influences both microscopic and macroscopic string properties.

Potential implications for early-universe cosmology are discussed.

Abstract

The properties of cosmic strings have been investigated in detail for their implications in early-universe cosmology. Although many variations of the basic structure have been discovered, with implications for both the microscopic and macroscopic properties of cosmic strings, the cylindrical symmetry of the short-distance structure of the string is generally unaffected. In this paper we describe some mechanisms leading to an asymmetric structure of the string core, giving the defects a quasi-two-dimensional character. We also begin to investigate the consequences of this internal structure for the microscopic and macroscopic physics.