Initial condition of a thick loop cosmic string and linear perturbations

Abstract

The initial data of the gravitational field produced by a loop thick string is considered. We show that a thick loop is not a geodesic on the initial hypersurface, while a loop conical singularity is. This suggests that there is the ``{\it critical thickness}'' of a string, at which the linear perturbation theory with a flat space background fails to describe the gravity of a loop cosmic string. Using the above initial data, we also show that the linear perturbation around flat space is plausible if the string thickness is larger than $\sim5\times10^{-3}a$, where $a$ is the curvature radius of the loop.

21 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX. Some spelling / grammar typos are corrected. Accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity