Microphysics of Cosmic Strings in Supersymmetric and Grand Unified Theories

In this thesis we investigate the microphysics of cosmic strings in non-minimal quantum field theories. In particular we consider theories in which fermion fields couple to the strings, and those with larger symmetry groups, such as grand unified and supersymmetric theories. By considering these extensions to the minimal model, we obtain a more realistic picture of the properties of cosmic strings.