Summary
The possibility is explored that highly charged superconducting strings and vortons ionize neutral atoms and act as high-energy charged-particle accelerators. For strings characterized by a GUT mass scale, it is roughly estimated (neglecting radiative losses) that charged particles such as protons and heavier nuclei may reach an energy scale ≥ 1021 eV.
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Morris, J.R. Superconducting strings as sources of high-energy cosmic rays. Il Nuovo Cimento B 108, 823–825 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02741881
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02741881