ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will describe a number of exact solutions to the string equations of motion in Minkowski spacetime. The purpose of this is not only to illustrate the richness and complexity of string dynamics but also to introduce some of the standard trajectories that have been used in benchmark calculations of the gravitational back-reaction and radiation fluxes from a cosmic string (a topic to be discussed in some detail in chapter 6). Each of the solutions examined here will be written in the aligned standard gauge. Unless otherwise stated, each trajectory is described in its centre-of-momentum frame. Where applicable, all the cusps, kinks and self-intersections supported by the string are identified and the angular momentum vector J is given if finite and non-zero. In all examples involving loops, the parameter L denotes the invariant length of the string, so that the total energy in the centre-of-momentum frame is µL.
