We analyze the gravitational wave signatures of a network of metastable cosmic strings. We consider the case of cosmic string instability to breakage, with no primordial population of monopoles. This scenario is well motivated from grand unified theories and string-theoretic models with an inflationary phase below the grand unified theories/string scale. The network initially evolves according to a scaling solution, but with breakage events resulting from confined monopoles (beads) being pair produced and accelerated apart. We find these ultrarelativistic beads to be a potent source of gravitational wave bursts, detectable by initial LIGO, advanced LIGO, and LISA. Indeed, advanced LIGO could observe bursts from strings with tensions as low as $G\mu \sim {10}^{-12}$. In addition, we find that ultrarelativistic beads produce a scale-invariant stochastic background detectable by LIGO, LISA, and pulsar timing experiments. The stochastic background is scale invariant up to the Planckian frequencies. This phenomenology provides new constraints and signatures of cosmic strings that disappear long before the present day.

• Received 20 April 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.79.123519