Cosmic strings in an expanding spacetime

Abstract

We study string solutions in an expanding Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetime. The back reaction of the string on the spacetime has been ignored so that the background stays Friedmannian throughout the evolution. By numerically integrating the field equations in both radiation- and matter-dominated eras, we discover some new oscillatory solutions. The possible damping of these oscillations is discussed. For late times the solution becomes identical to the static one.