Super-horizon cosmic string correlations

When gauged cosmic strings form in a symmetry-breaking phase transition, the gauge field configuration at the time becomes imprinted in the spatial string distribution by the flux trapping mechanism. Causality and flux conservation suggest that quantum and thermal gauge field fluctuations give rise to long-range super-horizon correlations in the string network. Classical field theory simulations in the Abelian Higgs model confirm this finding. In contrast, the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, which most cosmic string studies are based on, only gives rise to short-distance, subhorizon correlations. These results may have implications for cosmology, and it may also be possible to test them in superconductor experiments.