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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Cosmic string solution to the radio synchrotron background

Bryce Cyr*, Jens Chluba, and Sandeep Kumar Acharya

  • Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, , Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom

  • *bryce.cyr@manchester.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. D 109, L121301 – Published 4 June, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.109.L121301

Abstract

We investigate the low-frequency spectral emission from a network of superconducting cosmic string loops in hopes of explaining the observed radio synchrotron background. After considering constraints from a variety of astrophysical and cosmological measurements, we identify a best-fit solution with string tension Gμ≃6.5×10−12 and current I≃2.5×106  GeV. This model yields a convincing fit to the data and may be testable in the near future by spectral distortion (TMS, BISOU) and 21 cm experiments (HERA, SKA, REACH). We also find that soft photon heating protects us against current constraints from global 21 cm experiments.

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Phys. Rev. D 109, L121301– Published 4 June, 2024
  • Received 13 June 2023
  • Revised 10 November 2023
  • Accepted 7 May 2024
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