Model Dependence of Baryon Decay Enhancement by Cosmic Strings

Abstract

Cosmic strings arising from GUTs can catalyse baryon decay processes with strong interaction cross sections. We examine the mechanism by which the cross section is enhanced and find that it depends strongly on the details of the distribution of gauge fields within the string core. We propose a calculational scheme for estimating wavefunction amplification factors and also a physical understanding of the nature of the enhancement process.