Gravitational Wave Background from Metastable Current-Carrying Cosmic Strings
Abstract
We study the stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) generated by networks of current-carrying metastable cosmic strings (MSCSs). Extending previous studies, we include the possibility of vorton formation phenomenologically. We construct an analytical template that provides a fast and accurate approximation to the spectrum in the frequency range probed by pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). We also show how the parameters of cosmic string networks determine the low-frequency slope. For the frequency range relevant for LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK), we derive an analytical expression that constrains the scale-invariant part of the SGWB. Finally, we confront the model with current constraints from PTAs and the LVK collaboration. We identify regions of the parameter space that can produce a signal consistent with PTA observations but are in tension with LVK constraints, suggesting that additional mechanisms to suppress the high-frequency spectrum are required for a consistent interpretation of the PTA signal
Related
- Thermal Metastable Strings in One-Scale Models and Gravitational Waves
- Metastable strings at PTAs: classical stability analysis
- The decay rate of metastable cosmic strings beyond the thin-string approximation
- Gravitational Waves and Nambu-Goldstone Bosons from Infrared-Finite Cosmic Strings
- Impact of cosmic evolution on the gravitational wave spectrum from cosmic strings
BibTeX
@misc{rybak2026gravitational,
title = {{Gravitational Wave Background from Metastable Current-Carrying Cosmic Strings}},
author = {Ivan Rybak and Rinku Maji and Qaisar Shafi},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.38140},
eprint = {2610.38140},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38140},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Gravitational Wave Background from Metastable Current-Carrying Cosmic Strings
AU - Ivan Rybak
AU - Rinku Maji
AU - Qaisar Shafi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.38140
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38140
AB - We study the stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) generated by networks of current-carrying metastable cosmic strings (MSCSs). Extending previous studies, we include the possibility of vorton formation phenomenologically. We construct an analytical template that provides a fast and accurate approximation to the spectrum in the frequency range probed by pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). We also show how the parameters of cosmic string networks determine the low-frequency slope. For the frequency range relevant for LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK), we derive an analytical expression that constrains the scale-invariant part of the SGWB. Finally, we confront the model with current constraints from PTAs and the LVK collaboration. We identify regions of the parameter space that can produce a signal consistent with PTA observations but are in tension with LVK constraints, suggesting that additional mechanisms to suppress the high-frequency spectrum are required for a consistent interpretation of the PTA signal
ER -