Searching for Cosmic Strings in CMB Anisotropy Maps using Wavelets and
  Curvelets
  We use wavelet and curvelet transforms to extract signals of cosmic strings
from cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy maps, and to
study the limits on the cosmic string tension which various ongoing CMB
temperature anisotropy experiments will be able to achieve. We construct sky
maps with size and angular resolution corresponding to various experiments.
These maps contain the signals of a scaling solution of long string segments
with a given string tension $G \mu$, the contribution of the dominant Gaussian
primordial cosmological fluctuations, and pixel by pixel white noise with an
amplitude corresponding to the instrumental noise of the various experiments.
In the case that we include white noise, we find that the curvelets are more
powerful than wavelets. For maps with Planck specification, we obtain bounds on
the string tension comparable to what was obtained by the Planck collaboration.
Experiments with better angular resolution such as the South Pole Telescope
third generation (SPT-3G) survey will be able to yield stronger limits. For
maps with a specification of SPT-3G we find that string signals will be visible
down to a string tension of $G \mu = 1.4 \times 10^{-7}$.
