Quantum stabilization of cosmic strings

Abstract

In the standard model, stabilization of a classically unstable cosmic string may occur through the quantum fluctuations of a heavy fermion doublet. We review numerical results from a semiclassical expansion in a reduced version of the standard model. In this expansion, the leading quantum corrections emerge at one loop level for many internal degrees of freedom. The resulting vacuum polarization energy and the binding energies of occupied fermion energy levels are of the same order, and must therefore be treated on equal footing. Populating these bound states lowers the total energy compared to the same number of free fermions and assigns a charge to the string. Charged strings are already stabilized for a fermion mass only somewhat larger than the top quark mass. Though obtained in a reduced version, these results suggest that neither extraordinarily large fermion masses nor unrealistic couplings are required to bind a cosmic string in the standard model. Furthermore, we also review results for a quantum stabilization mechanism that prevents closed Nielsen–Olesen-type strings from collapsing.