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Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts
This thesis concerns observational characteristics of two theoretical aspects of cosmic strings. The first is relativistic modification of cusps. Nambu-Goto strings generically develop cusps, regions of the string which emit coherent electromagnetic radiation when they decay. We point out that consi...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
2019
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| _version_ | 1867613242788937728 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Gordin, Jake E. B. |
| author2 | Weltman, Amanda |
| author_browse | Gordin, Jake E. B. Weltman, Amanda |
| author_facet | Weltman, Amanda Gordin, Jake E. B. |
| author_sort | Gordin, Jake E. B. |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis concerns observational characteristics of two theoretical aspects of cosmic strings. The first is relativistic modification of cusps. Nambu-Goto strings generically develop cusps, regions of the string which emit coherent electromagnetic radiation when they decay. We point out that consideration of relativistic effects in the rest frame of the string cusp substantially reduces the cusp length, and therefore modifies the normally assumed power, rate, and time scale of any radiation bursts. The second is consideration of wiggly cosmic strings. Simulations imply a distribution of strings in an expanding universe develop small-scale structure called wiggles. We extend on a wiggly Polyakov formalism and show that wiggles prohibit cusp formation (barring ad-hoc fine tuning of initial conditions). We discuss these theoretical results in the context of using strings to explain fast radio bursts (FRBs). Cusp decay is a possible mechanism for sourcing FRBs. We show, however, that (1) consideration of relativistic effect leads to incompatibility with FRB data, and (2) the absence of cusps from “realistic” cosmic strings casts further doubt on the possibility of detecting cosmic strings via electromagnetic signatures. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29983 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:01.081Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics |
| publisherStr | Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/29983 Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts Gordin, Jake E. B. Weltman, Amanda This thesis concerns observational characteristics of two theoretical aspects of cosmic strings. The first is relativistic modification of cusps. Nambu-Goto strings generically develop cusps, regions of the string which emit coherent electromagnetic radiation when they decay. We point out that consideration of relativistic effects in the rest frame of the string cusp substantially reduces the cusp length, and therefore modifies the normally assumed power, rate, and time scale of any radiation bursts. The second is consideration of wiggly cosmic strings. Simulations imply a distribution of strings in an expanding universe develop small-scale structure called wiggles. We extend on a wiggly Polyakov formalism and show that wiggles prohibit cusp formation (barring ad-hoc fine tuning of initial conditions). We discuss these theoretical results in the context of using strings to explain fast radio bursts (FRBs). Cusp decay is a possible mechanism for sourcing FRBs. We show, however, that (1) consideration of relativistic effect leads to incompatibility with FRB data, and (2) the absence of cusps from “realistic” cosmic strings casts further doubt on the possibility of detecting cosmic strings via electromagnetic signatures. 2019-05-10T10:35:02Z 2019-05-10T10:35:02Z 2018 2019-05-10T10:00:48Z Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29983 eng application/pdf Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Faculty of Science |
| spellingShingle | Gordin, Jake E. B. Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| title_full | Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| title_fullStr | Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| title_short | Cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| title_sort | cosmic string cusps and their application to fast radio bursts |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29983 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gordinjakeeb cosmicstringcuspsandtheirapplicationtofastradiobursts |