Cosmic strings and the origin of globular clusters

Abstract

We hypothesize that cosmic string loops are the seeds about which globular clusters accrete. Fixing the cosmic string tension by demanding that the peak in the distribution of masses of objects accreting onto string loops agrees with the peak in the observed mass distribution of globular clusters in our Milky Way galaxy, we then compute the expected number density and mass function of globular clusters, and compare with observations. Our hypothesis naturally explains why globular clusters are the oldest and most dense objects in a galaxy, and why they are found in the halo of the galaxy.