Abstract :
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge interactions. The typical energy scale of these strings is about 102 TeV. Since in the most general and natural scenario there are two different sources of contributions to ordinary superpartner masses, gauge mediation from the messanger sector and anomalous U(1)D-terms, novel features are that the cosmic strings may be superconducting with the role of bosonic charge carriers played by squarks and sleptons and that some baryonic or leptonic charge may be stored in the core of the string. Possible cosmological and astrophysical implications of these superconducting strings are discussed.
