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We detail the construction of electric string solutions in $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills-Higgs theory with a scalar in the fundamental representation and discuss the properties of the solution. We show that Schwinger gluon pair production in the electric string background is absent. A similar construction in other models, such as with an adjoint scalar field and the electroweak model, does not yield solutions., 9 pages, 5 figures

We study the formation and evolution of topological defects that arise in the postrecombination phase transition predicted by the gravitational neutrino mass model in Dvali and Funcke [Phys. Rev. D 93, 113002 (2016)]. In the transition, global skyrmions, monopoles, strings, and domain walls form due to the spontaneous breaking of the neutrino flavor symmetry. These defects are unique in their softness and origin; as they appear at a very low energy scale, they only require standard model particle content, and they differ fundamentally depending on the Majorana or Dirac nature of the neutrinos. One of the observational signatures is the time dependence and space dependence of the neutrino mass matrix, which could be observable in future neutrino experiments. Already existing data rule out parts of the parameter space in the Majorana case. The detection of this effect could shed light onto the open question of the Dirac versus Majorana neutrino nature.

We find electric string solutions in Yang-Mills-Higgs theory., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. v2: title changed; corrected error in parameter range (solution only exists for $\lambda < g^2/4$) and revised discussion accordingly; included explicit check of the solution in supplemental material

We analyze the magnetic field of electroweak dumbbells. While the magnetic field of the untwisted dumbbell is given by the usual dipole formula and falls of as $1/r^3$, dumbbells with twist have a novel twisted magnetic field that only falls off as $\cos\theta/r^2$ (in spherical coordinates). We comment on the relevance of twisted electroweak dumbbells for understanding the coherence of the magnetic field generated at the electroweak phase transition., Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures

We study the stability of fluctuations around a homogeneous non-Abelian electric field background that is of a form that is protected from Schwinger pair production. Our analysis identifies the unstable modes and we find a limiting set of parameters for which there are no instabilities. We discuss potential implications of our analysis for confining strings in non-Abelian gauge theories., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

Kinks and domain walls are the simplest kind of solitons and are invaluable for testing various ideas and for learning about non-perturbative aspects of field theories. They are the subject of research in essentially every branch of physics, ranging from condensed matter to cosmology. This 2006 book is an introduction to kinks and domain walls and their principal classical and quantum properties. The book examines classical solitons, building from examples in elementary systems to more complicated settings. The formation of solitons in phase transitions, their dynamics and their cosmological consequences are further discussed. The book closes with an explicit description of a few laboratory systems containing solitons. Kinks and Domain Walls includes several state-of-the-art results, some previously unpublished. Each chapter closes with open questions and research problems and will be of great interest to both graduate students and academic researchers in theoretical physics, particle physics, cosmology and condensed matter physics.

Quantum fields in time-dependent backgrounds generally lead to particle production. Here we consider "unexciting" backgrounds for which the net particle production vanishes. We start by considering the simple harmonic oscillator and explicitly construct all unexciting time-dependent frequencies. This allows us to construct homogeneous backgrounds in field theory for which there is no particle production in any given mode, though we are able to show that there are no homogeneous backgrounds for which the particle production vanishes in every mode. We then construct general inhomogeneous unexciting field theory backgrounds. The set of all unexciting field theory backgrounds will be further restricted by the choice of physical interactions and this leads to an interesting open problem., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. v2: included further comments and updated references; v3: expanded section V on stationary backgrounds, published version

Electric fields in QED are known to discharge due to Schwinger pair production of charged particles. Corresponding electric fields in non-Abelian theory are known to discharge due to the production of gluons. Yet electric flux tubes in QCD ought to be stable to the production of charged gluons as they confine quarks. We resolve this conundrum by finding electric field configurations in pure non-Abelian gauge theory in which the Schwinger process is absent and the electric field is protected against quantum dissipation. We comment on the implications for QCD flux tubes., Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. Clarified presentation, added further references. PRD published version. Fixed a few typos (results unchanged)

We show how in the standard electroweak model three $SU(2)_L$ Nambu monopoles, each carrying electromagnetic (EM) and Z- magnetic fluxes, can merge (through Z-strings) with a single $U(1)_Y$ Dirac monopole to yield a composite monopole that only carries EM magnetic flux. Compatibility with the Dirac quantization condition requires this composite monopole to carry six quanta ($12 \pi /e$) of magnetic charge, independent of the electroweak mixing angle $\theta_w$. The Dirac monopole is not regular at the origin and the energy of the composite monopole is therefore divergent. We discuss how this problem is cured by embedding $U(1)_Y$ in a grand unified group such as $SU(5)$. A second composite configuration with only one Nambu monopole and a colored $U(1)_Y$ Dirac monopole that has minimal EM charge of $4\pi/e$ is also described. Finally, there exists a configuration with an EM charge of $8\pi/e$ as well as screened color magnetic charge., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; published (PRD) version

We estimate the chirality of the cosmological medium due to parity violating decays of standard model particles, focusing on the example of tau leptons. The non-trivial chirality is however too small to make a significant contribution to the cosmological magnetic field via the chiral-magnetic effect., 4 pages

We study the Schwinger process in a uniform non-Abelian electric field using a dynamical approach in which we evolve an initial quantum state for gluonic excitations. We evaluate the spectral energy density and number density in the excitations as functions of time. The total energy density has an ultraviolet divergence which we argue gets tamed due to asymptotic freedom, leading to $g^4E^4t^4$ growth, where $g$ is the coupling and $E$ the electric field strength. We also find an infrared divergence in the number density of excitations whose resolution requires an effect such as confinement., Comment: Two columns, 9 pages. 4 figures. Numerical code submitted as ancillary files. Match journal version (PHYS. REV. D.)

The vacuum manifold of the standard electroweak model is a three-sphere when one considers homogeneous Higgs field configurations. For inhomogeneous configurations we argue that the vacuum manifold is the Hopf fibered three sphere and that this viewpoint leads to general criteria to detect electroweak monopoles and Z-strings. We extend the Kibble mechanism to study the formation of electroweak monopoles and strings during electroweak symmetry breaking. The distribution of magnetic monopoles produces magnetic fields that have a spectrum $B_\lambda \propto \lambda^{-2}$, where $\lambda$ is a smearing length scale. Even as the magnetic monopoles annihilate due to the confining Z-strings, the magnetic field evolves with the turbulent plasma and may be relevant for cosmological observations., Comment: 6 pages; 4 figures; v2: 6 pages, 5 figures -- updated references, additional figure and comments; v3: clarified topological arguments, included discussion of Hopf fibration, removed certain inaccuracies; v4:further clarified topological arguments and setup, updated abstract, references and comments, added table of contents and sectioning; v5: JHEP published version

We consider quantum phase transitions with global symmetry breakings that result in the formation of topological defects. We evaluate the number densities of kinks, vortices, and monopoles that are produced in $d=1,2,3$ spatial dimensions respectively and find that they scale as $t^{-d/2}$ and evolve towards attractor solutions that are independent of the quench timescale. For $d=1$ our results apply in the region of parameters $\lambda \tau/m \ll 1$ where $\lambda$ is the quartic self-interaction of the order parameter, $\tau$ is the quench timescale, and $m$ the mass parameter., Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, published version

After a quantum phase transition the quantum vacuum can break up to form classical topological defects. We examine this process for scalar field models with $Z_2$ symmetry for different quench rates for the phase transition. We find that the number density of kinks at late times universally scales as $C m^{1/2} t^{-1/2}$ where $m$ is a mass scale in the model and $C\approx 0.22$; it does not depend on the quench timescale in contrast to the Kibble-Zurek scaling for thermal phase transitions. A subleading correction $\propto t^{-3/2}$ to the kink density depends on the details of the phase transition., 7 pages, 5 figures, published version

We account for particle emission and gravitational radiation from cosmic string loops to determine their effect on the loop distribution and observational signatures of strings. The effect of particle emission is that the number density of loops no longer scales. This results in a high frequency cutoff on the stochastic gravitational wave background, but we show that the expected cutoff is outside the range of current and planned detectors. Particle emission from string loops also produces a diffuse gamma ray background that is sensitive to the presence of kinks and cusps on the loops. However, both for kinks and cusps, and with mild assumptions about particle physics interactions, current diffuse gamma-ray background observations do not constrain $G\mu$., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures

We numerically study the decay of cosmic global string loops due to radiation of Goldstone bosons and massive scalar ($\chi$) particles. The length of loops we study range from 200-1000 times the width of the string core. We find that the lifetime of a loop is $\approx 1.4 L$. The energy spectrum of Goldstone boson radiation has a $k^{-1}$ fall off, where $k$ is the wavenumber, and a sharp peak at $k \approx m_\chi/2$, where $m_\chi$ is the mass of $\chi$. The latter is a new feature and implies a peak at high energies (MeV-GeV) in the cosmological distribution of QCD axions., Comment: 8 pages; 10 figures; An animation of a representative loop can be seen at https://ayushsaurabh.home.blog/2020/01/02/decay-of-cosmic-global-string-loops/

The interaction of a magnetic monopole-antimonopole pair depends on their separation as well as on a second "twist" degree of freedom. This novel interaction leads to a non-trivial bound state solution known as a sphaleron and to scattering in which the monopole-antimonopole bounce off each other and do not annihilate. The twist degree of freedom also plays a role in numerical experiments in which gauge waves collide and create monopole-antimonopole pairs. Similar gauge wavepacket scatterings in the Abelian-Higgs model lead to the production of string loops that may be relevant to superconductors. Ongoing numerical experiments to study the production of electroweak sphalerons that result in changes in the Chern-Simons number, and hence baryon number, are also described but have not yet met with success., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Contribution to the Royal Society meeting on "Topological Avatars of New Physics", 4-5 March, 2019

We study the generation of magnetic field seeds during a first-order electroweak phase transition, by numerically evolving the classical equations of motion of the bosonic electroweak theory on the lattice. The onset of the transition is implemented by the random nucleation of bubbles with an arbitrarily oriented Higgs field in the broken phase. We find that about 10% of the latent heat is converted into magnetic energy, with most of the magnetic fields being generated in the last stage of the phase transition when the Higgs oscillates around the true vacuum. The energy spectrum of the magnetic field has a peak that shifts towards larger length scales as the phase transition unfolds. By the end of our runs the peak wavelength is of the order of the bubble percolation scale, or about a third of our lattice size., 12 pages, 13 figures

We apply the recently discovered classical-quantum correspondence (CQC) to study the quantum evaporation of breathers in an extended sine-Gordon model. We present numerical results for the decay rate of the breather as a function of the coupling strength in the model. This is a complete treatment of the backreaction of quantum radiation on the classical dynamics of oscillons., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures. Published version

We numerically study string production by evolving classical Abelian-Higgs gauge field wavepackets. Initial conditions are constructed for the propagation of a single wavepacket and for the collision of two wavepackets. We identify regions of parameter space that lead to prompt production of strings from a single wavepacket. The collision of two sub-critical wavepackets can also lead to the production of strings in certain regions of parameter space., Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures

A variety of observations impose upper limits at the nano Gauss level on magnetic fields that are coherent on inter-galactic scales while blazar observations indicate a lower bound $\sim 10^{-16}$ Gauss. Such magnetic fields can play an important astrophysical role, for example at cosmic recombination and during structure formation, and also provide crucial information for particle physics in the early universe. Magnetic fields with significant energy density could have been produced at the electroweak phase transition. The evolution and survival of magnetic fields produced on sub-horizon scales in the early universe, however, depends on the magnetic helicity which is related to violation of symmetries in fundamental particle interactions. The generation of magnetic helicity requires new CP violating interactions that can be tested by accelerator experiments via decay channels of the Higgs particle., 27 pages, 17 figures; several improvements especially in electroweak section. Published in Reports on Progress in Physics

We map the quantum problem of a free bosonic field in a space-time dependent background into a classical problem. $N$ degrees of freedom of a real field in the quantum theory are mapped into $2N^2$ classical simple harmonic oscillators with specific initial conditions. We discuss how this classical-quantum correspondence (CQC) may be used to evaluate quantum radiation and fully treat the backreaction of quantum fields on classical backgrounds. The technique has widespread application, including to the quantum evaporation of classical breathers ("oscillons")., 13 pages. Published version

We work in the Heisenberg picture to demonstrate the classical-quantum correspondence (CQC) in which the dynamics of a quantum variable is equivalent to that of a complexified classical variable. The correspondence provides a tool for analyzing quantum backreaction problems which we illustrate by a toy model in which a rolling particle slows down due to quantum radiation. The dynamics found using the CQC is in excellent agreement with that found using the much more laborious full quantum analysis., 8 pages, 7 figures. Published version

A recently discovered classical-quantum correspondence (CQC) maps certain quantum problems to corresponding classical problems. We illustrate the CQC for a quantum scalar field in the gravitational background of a collapsing spherical shell. By truncating the problem to a small set of variables, we show how the CQC can yield Hawking radiation as well as the slow down of the collapse due to radiation backreaction., 13 pages, 5 figures. Title changed. Published version

Primordial magnetic fields in the dark sector can be transferred to magnetic fields in the visible sector due to a gauge kinetic mixing term. We show that the transfer occurs when the evolution of magnetic fields is dominated by dissipation due to finite electric conductivity, and does not occur at later times if the magnetic fields evolve according to magnetohydrodynamics scaling laws. The efficiency of the transfer is suppressed by not only the gauge kinetic mixing coupling but also the ratio between the large electric conductivity and the typical momentum of the magnetic fields. We find that the transfer gives nonzero visible magnetic fields today. However, without possible dynamo amplifications, the field transfer is not efficient enough to obtain the intergalactic magnetic fields suggested by the gamma-ray observations, although there are plenty of possibilities for efficient dark magnetogenesis, which are experimentally unconstrained., Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures

We present new simulations of decaying hydromagnetic turbulence for a relativistic equation of state relevant to the early universe. We compare helical and nonhelical cases either with kinetically or magnetically dominated initial fields. Both kinetic and magnetic initial helicities lead to maximally helical magnetic fields after some time, but with different temporal decay laws. Both are relevant to the early universe, although no mechanisms have yet been identified that produce magnetic helicity with strengths comparable to the big bang nucleosynthesis limit at scales comparable to the Hubble horizon at the electroweak phase transition. Nonhelical magnetically dominated fields could still produce picoGauss magnetic fields under most optimistic conditions. Only helical magnetic fields can potentially have nanoGauss strengths at scales up to 30 kpc today., 17 pages, 13 figures; submitted to PRD

We numerically study the interactions of twisted monopole-antimonopole pairs in the 't Hooft-Polyakov model for a range of values of the scalar to vector mass ratio. We also recover the sphaleron solution at maximum twist discovered by Taubes, and map out its energy and size as functions of parameters., Published Version. (7 pages, 12 figures, 1 table)

Motivated by various systems in which quantum effects occur in classical backgrounds, we consider the dynamics of a classical particle as described by a coherent state that is coupled to a quantum bath via bi-quadratic interactions. We evaluate the resulting quantum dissipation of the motion of the classical particle. We also find classical initial conditions for the bath that effectively lead to the same dissipation as that due to quantum effects, possibly providing a way to approximately account for quantum backreaction within a classical analysis., 8 pages; fixed minor typos

Helical intergalactic magnetic fields at the $\sim 10^{-14}~{\rm G}$ level on $\sim 10~{\rm Mpc}$ length scales are indicated by current gamma ray observations. The existence of magnetic fields in cosmic voids and their non-trivial helicity suggest that they must have originated in the early universe and thus have implications for the fundamental interactions. I combine present knowledge of the observational constraints and the dynamics of cosmological magnetic fields to derive characteristics that would need to be explained by the magnetic field generation mechanism. The importance of CP violation and a possible crucial role for chiral effects in the early universe are pointed out., 6 pages; updated references, added clarifying remarks

We investigate if the topology of pure gauge fields in the electroweak vacuum can play a role in classical dynamics at the electroweak phase transition. Our numerical analysis shows that magnetic fields are produced if the initial vacuum has non-trivial Chern-Simons number, and the fields are helical if the Chern-Simons number changes during the phase transition., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We show that in decaying hydromagnetic turbulence with initial kinetic helicity, a weak magnetic field eventually becomes fully helical. The sign of magnetic helicity is opposite to that of the kinetic helicity - regardless of whether or not the initial magnetic field was helical. The magnetic field undergoes inverse cascading with the magnetic energy decaying approximately like t^{-1/2}. This is even slower than in the fully helical case, where it decays like t^{-2/3}. In this parameter range, the product of magnetic energy and correlation length raised to a certain power slightly larger than unity, is approximately constant. This scaling of magnetic energy persists over long time scales. At very late times and for domain sizes large enough to accommodate the growing spatial scales, we expect a cross-over to the t^{-2/3} decay law that is commonly observed for fully helical magnetic fields. Regardless of the presence or absence of initial kinetic helicity, the magnetic field experiences exponential growth during the first few turnover times, which is suggestive of small-scale dynamo action. Our results have applications to a wide range of experimental dynamos and astrophysical time-dependent plasmas, including primordial turbulence in the early universe., Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Fluids

Stars that are collapsing toward forming a black hole but appear frozen near their Schwarzschild horizon are termed "black stars". The collision of two black stars leads to gravitational radiation during the merging phase followed by a delayed gamma ray burst during coalescence. The recent observation of gravitational waves by LIGO, followed by a possible gamma ray counterpart by Fermi, suggests that the source may have been a merger of two black stars with profound implications for quantum gravity and the nature of black holes., 6 pages. Essay based on arXiv:0706.1203. Honorable mention in the 2016 Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition

Physical review / D D94(8), 083005 (2016). doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.94.083005, We determine the effect of intergalactic magnetic fields on the distribution of high-energy gamma rays by performing three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations of the development of gamma-ray-induced electromagnetic cascades in the magnetized intergalactic medium. We employ the so-called “Large Sphere Observer” method to efficiently simulate blazar gamma ray halos. We study magnetic fields with a Batchelor spectrum and with maximal left- and right-handed helicities. We also consider the case of sources whose jets are tilted with respect to the line of sight. We verify the formation of extended gamma ray halos around the source direction, and observe spiral-like patterns if the magnetic field is helical. We apply the Q-statistics to the simulated halos to extract their spiral nature and also propose an alternative method, the S-statistics. Both methods provide a quantitative way to infer the helicity of the intervening magnetic fields from the morphology of individual blazar halos for magnetic field strengths B≳10-15 G and magnetic coherence lengths Lc≳100 Mpc. We show that the S-statistics has a better performance than the Q-statistics when assessing magnetic helicity from the simulated halos., Published by APS, Woodbury, NY

The core region of a neutron star may feature quark matter in the color-flavor- locked (CFL) phase. The CFL condensate breaks the baryon number symmetry, such that the phenomenon of superfluidity arises. If the core of the star is rotating, vortices will form in the superfluid, carrying the quanta of angular momentum. In a previous study we have solved the question of stability of these vortices, where we found numerical proof of a conjectured instability, according to which superfluid vortices will decay into an arrangement of so-called semi-superfluid fluxtubes. Here we report first results of an extension of our framework that allows us to study multi-vortex dynamics. This will in turn enable us to investigate the structure of semi-superfluid string lattices, which could be relevant to study pinning phenomena at the boundary of the core., Comment: Conference proceedings 'QCD@Work 2016'

We consider the creation of 't Hooft-Polyakov magnetic monopoles by scattering classical wave packets of gauge fields. An example with eight clearly separated magnetic poles created with parity violating helical initial conditions is shown. No clear separation of topological charge is observed with corresponding parity symmetric initial conditions., Comment: 5 pages; 9 figures

We numerically study the head-on scattering of a 't Hooft-Polyakov magnetic monopole and antimonopole for a wide range of parameters. In contrast to the scattering of a $\lambda \phi^4$ kink and antikink in 1+1 dimensions, we find that the monopole and antimonopole annihilate even when scattered at relativistic velocities. If the monopole and antimonopole have a relative twist, there is a repulsive force between them and they can initially be reflected. However, in every case we have examined, the reflected monopoles remain bound and eventually annihilate. We also calculate the magnetic helicity in the aftermath of monopole-antimonopole annihilation and confirm the conversion of relative twist to magnetic helicity as discussed earlier in the electroweak case., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures; fixed typos, updated acknowledgments

The research projects described in our original proposal are continuing, with completion of several of the envisaged projects, and several new related projects underway. Research of each of the Investigators and the postdocs supported by the grant are summarized in attached report.

We study the characteristic size and shape of idealized blazar-induced cascade halos in the $1-100 \, {\rm GeV}$ energy range assuming various non-helical and helical configurations for the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF). While the magnetic field creates an extended halo, the helicity provides the halo with a twist. Under simplifying assumptions, we assess the parameter regimes for which it is possible to measure the size and shape of the halo from a single source and then to deduce properties of the IGMF. We find that blazar halo measurements with an experiment similar to Fermi-LAT are best suited to probe a helical magnetic field with strength and coherence length today in the ranges $10^{-17} \lesssim B_{0} / {\rm Gauss} \lesssim 10^{-13}$ and $10 \, {\rm Mpc} \lesssim \lambda \lesssim 10 \, {\rm Gpc}$ where $\mathcal{H} \sim B_0^2 / \lambda$ is the magnetic helicity density. Stronger magnetic fields or smaller coherence scales can still potentially be investigated, but the connection between the halo morphology and the magnetic field properties is more involved. Weaker magnetic fields or longer coherence scales require high photon statistics or superior angular resolution., Comment: v3 - 33 pages, 14 figures; reduced file size; matches JCAP version

We explore some particle physics implications of the growing evidence for a helical primordial magnetic field (PMF). From the interactions of magnetic monopoles and the PMF, we derive an upper bound on the monopole number density, $n(t_0) < 1 \times 10^{-20}~{\rm cm}^{-3}$, which is a "primordial" analog of the Parker bound for the survival of galactic magnetic fields. Our bound is weaker than existing constraints, but it is derived under independent assumptions. We also show how improved measurements of the PMF at different redshifts can lead to further constraints on magnetic monopoles. Axions interact with the PMF due to the $\varphi {\bf E}\cdot {\bf B}$ interaction. Including the effects of the cosmological plasma, we find that the helicity of the PMF is a source for the axion field. Although the magnitude of the source is small for the PMF, it could potentially be of interest in astrophysical environments. Finally we apply constraints on the neutrino magnetic dipole moment that arise from requiring successful big bang nucleosynthesis in the presence of a PMF, and using the suggested strength $\sim 10^{-14}~{\rm G}$ and coherence length $\sim 10~{\rm Mpc}$ we find $\mu_\nu \lesssim 10^{-16} \mu_B$., Comment: v2: 12 pages, 2 figures, added discussion of axion-photon resonant conversion and CMB constraints

The scenario of an expanding universe envisioned in the early part of the 20th century has been replaced by one where we live in a chaotic, eternally bubbling universe. Every bubble has the potential for developing into a new habitable universe. In this essay I describe how large-scale quantum effects could be driving the chaotic bubbling universe.

Interactions of different types of topological defects can play an important role in the aftermath of a phase transition. We study interactions of fundamental magnetic monopoles and stable domain walls in a Grand Unified theory in which $SU(5) \times Z_2$ symmetry is spontaneously broken to $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)/Z_6$. We find that there are only two distinct outcomes depending on the relative orientation of the monopole and the wall in internal space. In one case, the monopole passes through the wall, while in the other it unwinds on hitting the wall., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures; new title and minor changes; matches the version accepted to Phys Rev D

Inter-galactic magnetic fields can imprint their structure on the morphology of blazar-induced gamma ray halos. We show that the halo morphology arises through the interplay of the source's jet and a two-dimensional surface dictated by the magnetic field. Through extensive numerical simulations, we generate mock halos created by stochastic magnetic fields with and without helicity, and study the dependence of the halo features on the properties of the magnetic field. We propose a sharper version of the Q-statistics and demonstrate its sensitivity to the magnetic field strength, the coherence scale, and the handedness of the helicity. We also identify and explain a new feature of the Q-statistics that can further enhance its power., v2: 23 pages, 17 figures. This version has an improved analysis of the electromagnetic cascade and matches the version published in JCAP

Cosmic strings can arise in hidden sector models with a spontaneously broken Abelian symmetry group. We have studied the couplings of the Standard Model fields to these so-called dark strings in the companion paper. Here we survey the cosmological and astrophysical observables that could be associated with the presence of dark strings in our universe with an emphasis on low-scale models, perhaps TeV. Specifically, we consider constraints from nucleosynthesis and CMB spectral distortions, and we calculate the predicted fluxes of diffuse gamma ray cascade photons and cosmic rays. For strings as light as TeV, we find that the predicted level of these signatures is well below the sensitivity of the current experiments, and therefore low scale cosmic strings in hidden sectors remain unconstrained. Heavier strings with a mass scale in the range 10^(13) GeV to 10^(15) GeV are at tension with nucleosynthesis constraints., 32 pages, 7 figures