New CMB constraints for Abelian Higgs cosmic strings

We present cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra from recent numerical simulations of cosmic strings in the Abelian Higgs model and compare them to CMB power spectra measured by Planck. We obtain revised constraints on the cosmic string tension parameter Gμ. For example, in the ΛCDM model with the addition of strings and no primordial tensor perturbations, we find Gμ < 2.0 × 10−7 at 95% confidence, about 20% lower than the value obtained from previous simulations, which had 1/64 of the spatial volume. The increased computational volume also makes it possible to simulate fully the physical equations of motion, in which the string cores shrink in comoving coordinates. We find however that this, and the larger dynamic range, changes the amplitude of the power spectra by only about 10%. The main cause of the stronger constraints on Gμ is instead an improved treatment of the string evolution across the radiation-matter transition