Primordial magnetic fields from self-ordering scalar fields
- Department of Physics and Astrophysics, Nagoya University, Aichi 464-8602 (Japan)
- Helsinki Institute of Physics, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, FIN-00014 (Finland)
A symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early universe could have led to the formation of cosmic defects. Because these defects dynamically excite not only scalar and tensor type cosmological perturbations but also vector type ones, they may serve as a source of primordial magnetic fields. In this study, we calculate the time evolution and the spectrum of magnetic fields that are generated by a type of cosmic defects, called global textures, using the non-linear sigma (NLSM) model. Based on the standard cosmological perturbation theory, we show, both analytically and numerically, that a vector-mode relative velocity between photon and baryon fluids is induced by textures, which inevitably leads to the generation of magnetic fields over a wide range of scales. We find that the amplitude of the magnetic fields is given by B∼10{sup −9}((1+z)/10{sup 3}){sup −2.5}(v/m{sub pl}){sup 2}(k/Mpc{sup −1}){sup 3.5}/√N Gauss in the radiation dominated era for k∼< 1 Mpc{sup −1}, with v being the vacuum expectation value of the O(N) symmetric scalar fields. By extrapolating our numerical result toward smaller scales, we expect that B∼ 10{sup −14.5}((1+z)/10{sup 3}){sup 1/2}(v/m{sub pl}){sup 2}(k/Mpc{sup −1}){sup 1/2}/√N Gauss on scales of k∼> 1 Mpc{sup −1} at redshift 0z∼> 110. This might be a seed of the magnetic fields observed on large scales today.
- OSTI ID:
- 22525905
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2015, Issue 04; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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