Cosmic String Network: Defect Dynamics

Cosmic strings are topological defects in a complex scalar field φ = ρe^{iθ}. After a symmetry-breaking quench, the phase θ(x,y) is disordered.

Vortices (winding number +1) and antivortices (−1) form at random. They attract, collide, and annihilate — the defect density decays as ξ(t) ~ 1/√t.

The Kibble-Zurek mechanism predicts one defect per correlation volume — a cosmological analog of the early universe phase transition.