2019/12/31 by Yanou Cui, Marek Lewicki, David E. Morrissey
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #COSMIC cancer database #Cosmic string #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Gravitational wave #Inflation (cosmology) #Observable #Physics #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Quantum mechanics #String (physics) #Theoretical physics #Unobservable #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.125.211302
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 211302 (2020) · 9 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 2020/11/17 · openalex publication_date 2020/11/20 · arxiv updated 2020/11/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
A standard expectation of primordial cosmological inflation is that it dilutes all relics created before its onset to unobservable levels. We present a counterexample to this expectation by demonstrating that a network of cosmic strings diluted by inflation can regrow to a level that is potentially observable today in gravitational waves (GWs). In contrast to undiluted cosmic strings, whose primary GW signals are typically in the form of a stochastic GW background, the leading signal from a diluted cosmic string network can be distinctive bursts of GWs within the sensitivity reach of current and future GW observatories.