Are Cosmic Strings Cracks in the Universe?

*****
Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord!

Reality has cracks in it. Universe-spanning filaments of ancient Big Bang energy, formed from topological defects in the quantum fields, aka cosmic strings. They have subatomic thickness but prodigious mass and they lash through space at a close to the speed of light. They could be the most bizarre undiscovered entities that actually exist.

Check out the Space Time Merch Store

Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements!

Hosted by Matt O'Dowd
Written by Jason Segall & Matt O'Dowd
Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, Pedro Osinski, Adriano Leal & Stephanie Faria
GFX Visualizations: Ajay Manuel
Directed by Andrew Kornhaber
Assistant Producer: Setare Gholipour
Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber
Executives in Charge (PBS): Adam Dylewski, Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing

Spacetime is produced by Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios.
This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content.
© 2021 PBS. All rights reserved.

Special Thanks to Our Patreon Supporters

Big Bang
Mark Evans
David Taiclet
Ben Dimock
Daniel Alexiuc
Nenado763
Peter Barrett
Nils Anderson
David Neumann
Charlie
Leo Koguan
Sandy Wu
Matthew Miller
Ahmad Jodeh
Alexander Tamas
Morgan Hough
Juan Benet
Vinnie Falco
Fabrice Eap
Mark Rosenthal
David Nicklas
Henry Van Styn

Quasar Supporters
Alex Kinsey
Alex Kern
Ethan Cohen
Stephen Wilcox
Christina Oegren
Mark Heising
Hank S

Hypernova Supporters
william bryan
Sergio Bonfiglio
drollere
Joe Moreira
Marc Armstrong
Scott Gorlick
Paul Stehr-Green
Adam Walters
Russell Pope
Ben Delo
Scott Gray
Антон Кочков
John R. Slavik
Mathew
Donal Botkin
John Pollock
Edmund Fokschaner
Joseph Salomone
chuck zegar
Jordan Young
m0nk
Daniel Muzquiz

Gamma Ray Burst
Tony Affinito
Lillith Montgomery
Avi Yashchin
MHL SHS
Kory Kirk
Joshua Friede
Terje Vold
Anatoliy Nagornyy
Sam Kirkpatrick
comboy
Brett Baker
Jeremy Soller
Jonathan Conerly
Andre Stechert
Ross Bohner
Paul Wood
Kent Durham
jim bartosh
Nubble
Chris Navrides
Scott R Calkins
The Mad Mechanic
Ellis Hall
John H. Austin, Jr.
Diana S
Ben Campbell
Lawrence Tholl, DVM
Faraz Khan
Almog Cohen
Alex Edwards
Ádám Kettinger
MD3
Endre Pech
Daniel Jennings
Cameron Sampson
Pratik Mukherjee
Geoffrey Clarion
Nate
Darren Duncan
Russ Creech
Jeremy Reed
Eric Webster
David Johnston
J. King
Michael Barton
James Ramsey
Justin Jermyn
Mr T
Andrew Mann
Isaac Suttell
Devon Rosenthal
Oliver Flanagan
Bleys Goodson
Robert Walter
Bruce B
Simon Oliphant
Mirik Gogri
Mark Delagasse
Mark Daniel Cohen
Brandon Lattin
Nickolas Andrew Freeman
Shane Calimlim
Tybie Fitzhugh
Robert Ilardi
Eric Kiebler
Craig Stonaha
Martin Skans
The Art of Sin
Graydon Goss
Frederic Simon
Tonyface
John Robinson
A G
David Neal
Kevin Lee
justahat
John Funai
Cass Costello
Tristan
Bradley Jenkins
Kyle Hofer
Daniel Stříbrný
Luaan
AlecZero
Vlad Shipulin
Cody
Malte Ubl
King Zeckendorff
Nick Virtue
Scott Gossett
Dan Warren
Patrick Sutton
Daniel Lyons
DFaulk
Kevin Warne

[coalkey]

Someday I imagine myself in an interview and I'll say, "Well, I'm not a credentialed physicist, but I've watched a lot of PBS Space Time, " and then I'll be hired on the spot.

[spluff]

Finally, a video that doesn't just explain what a topological defect is, but also explains which specific phases of what were transitioned between.

[sprydog]

As an old retired welding metallurgist it finally occurred to me on watching this episode that the topological defects you describe are very much like the grain boundaries that form when a weld or a freshly-poured steel ingot cool and solidify. So, more and more it seems that the early formation of the universe was more like a solidification/precipitation event, rather than a "big bang" from a single point. There are many other analogs between the universe formation mechanics you describe and solidification mechanics of metals - grain boundary energy, crystallographic phase orientation angles, and such. If I was younger I might almost feel compelled to investigate quantum mechanical relationships in metallurgical solidification phenomena - as it is, I am just happy to continue growing with your show.

[DaimyoD]

This is shockingly comprehensible and well-explained, even for us non-physicists.

[Lukesabr]

I can't explain how much I love this show. It's beyond my ability to convey.

Thanks PBS and Matt - you all continue to elevate us all above the minimums of our past.

[himynameis]

The videos this channel puts out has kept me sane for the past two years. Can't thank you guys enough

[calmkat]

This is one of my favorite videos from you all so far, definitely top 10! The fact that you wrap up seemingly separate concepts (vacuum decay, cosmic strings, and gravitational waves), and do so really elegantly, is that perfect blend of entertaining and educating.

[achronicblunt]

The way Matt explains stuff always makes me feel like I'm in the future listening to someone talk about all this.

[VermifugeX]

That was one of the best Space Time episodes I've seen. Keep up the stellar work!

[the_primal_instinct]

9:43 Whoever made this custom animation for a 15 minute long episode should get a raise

[brandonmunshaw]

Is the Higgs phase angle something that could theoretically be measured? Or are cosmic strings the only indication of a change in phase angle?

[MaryAnnNytowl]

This is one of the best, if not the best, descriptions I've run across about how cosmic strings came into being, what they do, and what we would need to see as evidence for them. Thanks for what you do, Matt, et al!

[Shockafter]

Anyone else just love this guys voice when he explains stuff? I know he could narrate like any show on space or nature.

[Mike-mutk]

The visual of the cylindrical vortex finally made the strings concept click in my head. Calling back to the monopole made that one click as well. Thanks for doing such a great job!

[joshyoung]

FINALLY THIS IS THE THING I WAS LOOKING UP. One time I went down a Wikipedia hole and found this exact concept but when I went to search for it next time, no dice... I could've sworn I was searching for "cosmic strings, " but even ignoring the stuff about string theory, I think all I got was micro-scale stuff... and I was like NO IT WAS LIKE A GIANT CRACK IN REALITY LIGHT-YEARS LONG AND I WANTED TO KEEP READING ABOUT IT but I never found it until now! Thank you PBS Space Time!!!

[PopeGoliath]

If strings are discontinuities in the phase of the Higgs field that cannot smooth themselves out, how do they then vanish by radiating energy? I thought they only formed in the first place because they could not simply go away.

[mikechessell]

I'm curious how these knots in the higgs field might interact with black holes? Would the black hole destroy the string, or would the cracked higgs field affect the black hole in some way?

[willo]

I’ve been reading or hearing about cosmic strings for close to 20 years but this was the clearest explanation I’ve ever seen. I finally feel like I have some understanding of what they are.

[objective_psychology]

Amazing, you've taken such a complex and abstract mathematical concept, and made it easy to visualize! Well done again :)

[hnjgaiszru]

I don't speak English natively and I never converse with it with my family and friends, plus I fail math, physics, chemistry so badly at school—but I understand 60-100% of things explained in this channel, and I generally understand math better with English. This language is so efficient for such purposes and thus I can prove to myself that school _doesn't_ define my intelligence at all.