Cosmic Strings and the Origin of Globular Clusters
arXiv:1502.07301 · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2015/06/022
Abstract
We hypothesize that cosmic string loops are the seeds about which globular clusters accrete. Fixing the cosmic string tension by demanding that the peak in the distribution of masses of objects accreting onto string loops agrees with the peak in the observed mass distribution of globular clusters in our Milky Way galaxy, we then compute the expected number density and mass function of globular clusters, and compare with observations. Our hypothesis naturally explains why globular clusters are the oldest and most dense objects in a galaxy, and why they are found in the halo of the galaxy.
7 pages, 2 figures, figures slightly adjusted, two references added; version to appear in JCAP
References in corpus (9)
- Cosmological parameters from combining the Lyman-alpha forest with CMB, galaxy clustering and SN constraints
- CMB power spectrum contribution from cosmic strings using field-evolution simulations of the Abelian Higgs model
- Fitting CMB data with cosmic strings and inflation
- String Gas Cosmology and Structure Formation
- Cosmic string loop distribution on all length scales and at any redshift
- Constraints on Supersymmetric Models of Hybrid Inflation
- The 21 cm Signature of Cosmic String Wakes
- Detecting Cosmic Strings in the CMB with the Canny Algorithm
- Textures and Semi-Local Strings in SUSY Hybrid Inflation