Cosmic strings from pure Yang-Mills theory

We discuss the formation of cosmic strings or macroscopic color flux tubes at the phase transition from the deconfinement to confinement phase in pure Yang-Mills (YM) theory, such as SU(N), Sp(N), SO(N), and Spin(N), based on the current understanding of theoretical physics. According to the holographic dual descriptions, the cosmic strings are dual to fundamental strings or wrapped D-branes in the gravity side depending on the structure of the gauge group, and the reconnection probability is suppressed by O(N-2) and e-O(N), respectively. The pure YM theory thus provides a simple realization of cosmic F-and D-strings without the need for a brane-inflationary scenario or extra dimension. We also review the stability of cosmic strings based on the concept of 1-form symmetry, which further implies the existence of a baryon vertex in some YM theory. We calculate the gravitational wave spectrum that is emitted from the cosmic strings based on an extended velocity-dependent one-scale model and discuss its detectability based on ongoing and planned gravitational-wave experiments. In particular, the SKA and LISA can observe gravitational signals if the confinement scale is higher than O(1012) GeV and O(1010) GeV for SU(N) with N = O(1), respectively.

Automated summary

This study discusses the formation of cosmic strings or macroscopic color flux tubes in the phase transition from the deconfinement to confinement phase in pure Yang-Mills theory. The holographic dual descriptions suggest that the cosmic strings are related to fundamental strings or wrapped D-branes in gravity side, with reconnection probability being suppressed. The study shows that the pure YM theory provides a simple realization of cosmic F-and D-strings.