Detection of cosmic superstrings by geodesic test particle motion

Journal Article · Tue Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.83.045027· OSTI ID:21505033

Hartmann, Betti; Sirimachan, Parinya ^[1]; Laemmerzahl, Claus ^[2]

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1. School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University Bremen, 28759 Bremen (Germany)
2. ZARM, Universitaet Bremen, Am Fallturm, 28359 Bremen (Germany)

(p,q)-strings are bound states of p F-strings and q D-strings and are predicted to form at the end of brane inflation. As such, these cosmic superstrings should be detectable in the Universe. In this paper we argue that they can be detected by the way that massive and massless test particles move in the space-time of these cosmic superstrings. In particular, we study solutions to the geodesic equation in the space-time of field theoretical (p,q)-strings. The geodesics can be classified according to the test particles' energy, angular momentum and momentum in the direction of the string axis. We discuss how the change of the magnetic fluxes, the ratio between the symmetry-breaking scale and the Planck mass, the Higgs-to-gauge-boson mass ratios and the binding between the F- and D-strings, respectively, influence the motion of the test particles. While massless test particles can move only on escape orbits, a new feature as compared to the infinitely thin string limit is the existence of bound orbits for massive test particles. In particular, we observe that--in contrast to the space-time of a single Abelian-Higgs string--bound orbits for massive test particles in (p,q)-string space-times are possible if the Higgs boson mass is larger than the gauge boson mass. We also compute the effect of the binding between the p- and the q-string on observables such as the light deflection and the perihelion shift. While light deflection can also be caused by other matter distributions, the possibility of a negative perihelion shift seems to be a feature of finite width cosmic strings that could lead to the unmistakable identification of such objects. In Melvin space-times, which are asymptotically nonconical, massive test particles have to move on bound orbits, while massless test particles can escape to infinity only if their angular momentum vanishes.

• OSTI ID: 21505033
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 83, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.83.045027; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
BOUND STATE
DISTRIBUTION
EQUATIONS
GEODESICS
HIGGS BOSONS
HIGGS MODEL
MAGNETIC FLUX
MASS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
SPACE-TIME
SUPERSTRING MODELS
SYMMETRY BREAKING
TEST PARTICLES
UNIVERSE
BOSONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXTENDED PARTICLE MODEL
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PARTICLE MODELS
POSTULATED PARTICLES
QUARK MODEL
STRING MODELS