Cosmic Topological Defects, Highest Energy Cosmic Rays, and the Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe

Abstract

It is pointed out that the observed extremely high energy cosmic rays (EHECR) above $10^{11}$ GeV and the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU), both may have a common origin in baryon number violating decays of supermassive ``X'' particles released from cosmic topological defects (TDs) such as cosmic strings and monopoles. The X particles produced by TDs in the recent epochs produce the EHECR, while the BAU is created by X particles released from TDs mainly in the very early Universe. In this scenario the EHECR is predicted to contain baryons as well as antibaryons with a small asymmetry between the two.

4 pages, RevTex, no figures, discussions and references added, other minor changes, version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett

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• B-L Cosmic strings and Baryogenesis
• Baryogenesis through gradual collapse of vortons
• Hard component of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and vortons
• Baryogenesis via Leptogenesis in presence of cosmic strings
• Constraint on $B-L$ cosmic string from leptogenesis with degenerate neutrinos
• Neutrino Detection with the Surface Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory