GRAVITATIONAL SYNCHROTRON RADIATION FROM COSMIC STRINGS

This work studies the gravitational synchrotron radiation emitted from arbitrary cusps of cosmic strings. The results are expressed in terms of four parameters describing the motion of such a cusp. The power spectrum is derived for cusps moving at unit velocity. By using a phenomenological approach we also derive the power emitted when the radiation reaction on the cusps is taken into account. In both cases, the synchrotron nature of the radiation produces a power spectrum emitted in a narrow forward cone. If cosmic strings do exist, the radiation emitted by their cusps would seem to be a potential candidate for gravitational-wave detectors. © 1990 The American Physical Society.