Bounds on cosmic strings from WMAP and SDSS

Mark Wyman, Levon Pogosian, and Ira Wasserman

Phys. Rev. D 72, 023513 – Published 18 July 2005; Erratum Phys. Rev. D 73, 089905 (2006)

Abstract

We find the constraints from Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe (WMAP) and Sloan digital sky survey (SDSS) data on the fraction of cosmological fluctuations sourced by local cosmic strings using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis. In addition to varying the usual 6 cosmological parameters and the string tension ( $μ$ ), we also varied the amount of small-scale structure on the strings. Our results indicate that cosmic strings can account for up to 7 (14)% of the total power of the microwave anisotropy at 68 (95)% confidence level. The corresponding bound on the string mass per unit length, within our string model, is $G μ < 3.4 (5) \times 10^{- 7}$ at 68 (95)% C.L. We also calculate the $B$ -type polarization spectra sourced by cosmic strings and discuss the prospects of their detection.

Received 17 March 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.72.023513

Erratum

Erratum: Bounds on cosmic strings from WMAP and SDSS [Phys. Rev. D 72, 23513 (2005)]

Mark Wyman, Levon Pogosian, and Ira Wasserman

Phys. Rev. D 73, 089905 (2006)

Authors & Affiliations

Mark Wyman^1,2,*, Levon Pogosian³, and Ira Wasserman^1,2

¹Laboratory for Elementary Particle Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.
²Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.
³Institute of Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, U.S.A.

^*Electronic address: wyman@astro.cornell.edu

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Vol. 72, Iss. 2 — 15 July 2005

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Physical Review D

covering particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology