Bursts of gravitational radiation from superconducting cosmic strings and the neutrino mass spectrum

Abstract

Berezinsky, Hnatyk and Vilenkin showed that superconducting cosmic strings could be central engines for cosmological gamma-ray bursts and for producing the neutrino component of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. A consequence of this mechanism would be that a detectable cusp-triggered gravitational wave burst should be released simultaneously with the $\gamma$-ray surge. If contemporary measurements of both $\gamma$ and $\nu$ radiation could be made for any particular source, then the cosmological time-delay between them might be useful for putting unprecedently tight bounds on the neutrino mass spectrum. Such measurements could consistently verify or rule out the model, since strictly correlated behaviour is expected for the duration of the event and for the time variability of the spectra.