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Gravitational interactions of cosmic strings

Nature volume 311, pages 109–114 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

Breaking a Yang–Mills symmetry at very high energy could lead to macroscopic structures in the vacuum called ‘strings’, which may be the cause of galaxy formation and clustering. Dissipative gravitational interactions of string loops can produce unusual astrophysical side effects. Such scenarios generally predict a stochastic background of gravitational radiation which should be observable using the millisecond pulsar 1937 + 21. Gravitational radiation recoil accelerates loops, but dynamical friction on ordinary matter tends to slow them down so they may be able to accrete matter. Internal oscillations of loops produce a time-varying shear perturbation which may lead to an observable heating of stellar or gaseous systems in their immediate neighbourhood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Theoretical Astrophysics 130-33, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA

    C. J. Hogan

  2. Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK

    M. J. Rees

  3. Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA

    M. J. Rees

Authors
  1. C. J. Hogan
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  2. M. J. Rees
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Hogan, C., Rees, M. Gravitational interactions of cosmic strings. Nature 311, 109–114 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311109a0

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