Multi-messenger constraints on Abelian-Higgs cosmic string networks

Abstract

Nielsen-Olesen vortices in the Abelian-Higgs (AH) model are the simplest realisations of cosmic strings in a gauge field theory. Large-scale numerical solutions show that the dominant decay channel of a network of AH strings produced from random initial conditions is classical field radiation. However, they also show that with special initial conditions, loops of string can be created for which classical field radiation is suppressed, and which behave like Nambu-Goto (NG) strings with a dominant decay channel into gravitational radiation. This indicates that cosmic strings are generically sources of both high-energy particles and gravitational waves. Here we adopt a simple parametrisation of the AH string network allowing for both particle and gravitational wave production. With a reference to a specific model for NG-like loop distribution, this sets the basis for a ``multi-messenger'' investigation of this model. We find that, in order to explain the NANOGrav detection of a possible gravitational wave background, while satisfying the constraint on NG-like loop production from simulations and bounds from the cosmic microwave background, the tension of the AH string in Planck units $G\mu$ and the fraction of the NG-like loops $f_{\mathrm{NG}}$ should satisfy $G\mu f_{\mathrm{NG}}^{2.6}\gtrsim 3.2\times 10^{-13}$ at 95$\%$ confidence. On the other hand, for such string tensions, constraints from the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGRB) indicate that more than 97$\%$ of the total network energy should be converted to dark matter (DM) or dark radiation. We also consider joint constraints on the annihilation cross-section, the mass, and the relic abundance of DM produced by decays of strings. For example, for a DM mass of 500 GeV, the observed relic abundance can be explained by decaying AH strings that also account for the NANOGrav signal.

20 pages, 4 figures; v3: references are added, assumptions are clarified

References in corpus (19)

• The spectrum of isotropic diffuse gamma-ray emission between 100 MeV and 820 GeV
• The International Pulsar Timing Array second data release: Search for an isotropic Gravitational Wave Background
• On the evidence for a common-spectrum process in the search for the nanohertz gravitational-wave background with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
• Common-red-signal analysis with 24-yr high-precision timing of the European Pulsar Timing Array: Inferences in the stochastic gravitational-wave background search
• Stochastic gravitational wave background from smoothed cosmic string loops
• CMB power spectrum contribution from cosmic strings using field-evolution simulations of the Abelian Higgs model
• Cosmic string loop distribution on all length scales and at any redshift
• Stochastic gravitational waves from cosmic string loops in scaling
• Decay of Cosmic String Loops Due to Particle Radiation
• New CMB constraints for Abelian Higgs cosmic strings
• Search for the Gravitational-wave Background from Cosmic Strings with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array Second Data Release
• Searching for cosmic string induced stochastic gravitational wave background with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array
• Extending and Calibrating the Velocity dependent One-Scale model for Cosmic Strings with One Thousand Field Theory Simulations
• Cosmic strings from pure Yang-Mills theory
• Effective non-intercommutation of local cosmic strings at high collision speeds
• Reconstructing physical parameters from template gravitational wave spectra at LISA: first order phase transitions
• Quantifying the effect of cooled initial conditions on cosmic string network evolution
• B-L Cosmic strings and Baryogenesis
• Stochastic gravitational waves from long cosmic strings

Cited by in corpus (18)

• The recent gravitational wave observation by pulsar timing arrays and primordial black holes: the importance of non-gaussianities
• Gravitational Waves from SMBH Binaries in Light of the NANOGrav 15-Year Data
• The Detected Stochastic Gravitational Waves and Subsolar-Mass Primordial Black Holes
• Primordial black holes in the curvaton model: possible connections to pulsar timing arrays and dark matter
• Constraining gravitational wave propagation using pulsar timing array correlations
• From quantum gravity to gravitational waves through cosmic strings
• Practical approaches to analyzing PTA data: Cosmic strings with six pulsars
• Hunting the stochastic gravitational wave background in pulsar timing array cross correlations through theoretical uncertainty
• Revised bounds on local cosmic strings from NANOGrav observations
• Imprint of PBH domination on gravitational waves generated by cosmic strings
• Cosmic (super)strings with a time-varying tension
• Fundamental Physics and Cosmology with TianQin
• Simulating cosmic string loop captured by a rotating black hole
• Soliton foam formation in the early Universe
• Cosmic Strings-induced CMB anisotropies in light of Weighted Morphology
• Implications of pulsar timing arrays for Gauss-Bonnet Inflation
• Searching Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background Landscape Across Frequency Bands
• Graph-based Summary Statistics for Revealing the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background in Pulsar Timing Arrays