Evolution of Generic Varying-Tension Cosmic Strings in Expanding Spacetimes

Abstract

It has recently been realised that strings with time-dependent tensions exhibit interesting dynamics; in particular, when the tension decreases loops of string can grow and possibly percolate. We extend previous analytic studies of strings with time-dependent tensions to numerical studies of non-circular loops. We show that the dynamics of a varying-tension string in expanding universe is mathematically equivalent to the evolution of a fixed-tension string in a universe with a modified scale factor. We use numerical solvers and machine learning techniques to explore the dynamics of non-circular string loops with radii close to the Hubble scale.