The Structure of Cosmic String Wakes

The clustering of baryons and cold dark matter induced by a single moving string is analyzed numerically, making use of the new three-dimensional Eulerian cosmological hydrocode of Sornborger et al., which uses the piecewise parabolic method to track the baryons and the particle-in-cell method to evolve the dark matter particles. A long straight string moving with a speed comparable to c induces a planar overdensity (a "wake"). Since the initial perturbation is a velocity kick toward the plane behind the string and there is no initial Newtonian gravitational line source, the baryons are trapped in the center of the wake, leading to an enhanced baryon to dark matter ratio. The cold coherent flow leads to very low postshock temperatures of the baryonic fluid. In contrast, long strings with small-scale structure (which can be described by adding a Newtonian gravitational line source) move slowly and form filamentary objects. The large central pressure due to the gravitational potential causes the baryons to be expelled from the central regions and leads to a relative deficit in the baryon to dark matter ratio. In this case, the velocity of the baryons is larger, leading to high postshock temperatures.