Related papers: Topological Zero-Thickness Cosmic Strings
Cosmic strings in non-abelian gauge theories naturally gain a spectrum of massless, or light, excitations arising from their embedding in color and flavor space. This opens up the possibility that colliding strings miss each other in the…
The tensionless limit of classical string theory may be formulated as a topological theory on the world-sheet. A vector density carries geometrical information in place of an internal metric. It is found that path-integral quantization…
In cases of both abelian and nonabelian gauge groups, we consider the Higgs mechanism in topologically massive gauge theories in an arbitrary space-time dimension. It is shown that the presence of a topological term makes it possible to…
Classical lattice simulations of the Abelian Higgs model are used to investigate small scale structure and loop distributions in cosmic string networks. Use of the field theory ensures that the small-scale physics is captured correctly. The…
I review recent work concerning the microphysics of cosmic string solutions of N=1 supersymmetric gauge field theories.
We analyze the space-time structure of local gauge string with a phenomenological energy momentum tensor, as prescribed by Vilenkin in an arbitrary number of space-time dimensions with a non-zero cosmological constant >. A set of solutions…
This review summarizes the recent developments in topological string theory from the author's perspective, mostly focused on aspects of research in which the author is involved. After a brief overview of the theory, we discuss two aspects…
The spacetime physics of bulk closed string tachyon condensation is studied at the level of a two-derivative effective action. We derive the unique perturbative tachyon potential consistent with a full class of linearized tachyonic…
We develop a powerful analytical formalism for calculating the energy density of the stochastic gravitational wave background, including a full description of its anisotropies. This is completely general, and can be applied to any…
Cosmic strings are generic cosmological predictions of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, such as a $U(1)^\prime$ symmetry breaking phase transition in the early universe or remnants of superstring theory. Unlike…
This paper is aimed at setting observational limits to the number of cosmic strings (Nambu-Goto, Abelian-Higgs, semilocal) and other topological defects (textures). Radio maps of CMB anisotropy, provided by the space mission Planck for…
In this paper we investigate the non-Abelian cosmic string in de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes. In order to do that we construct the complete set of equations of motion considering the presence of a cosmological constant. By using…
We study the classical cosmic string solution in a theory with dynamical $U(1)$ symmetry breaking. We calculate the energy per unit length of the string and compare it to that obtained in a model with a fundamental Higgs. We find that the…
We discuss the problem of the motion of classical strings in some black hole and cosmological spacetimes. In particular, the null string limit (zero tension) of tensile strings is considered. We present some new exact string solutions in…
If the Universe underwent a cosmic phase transition, it may have left behind a network of cosmic strings. When these strings arise from the breaking of a gauge symmetry, their decay produces a significant stochastic background of…
In these lectures, I review the current status of cosmic strings and cosmic superstrings. I first discuss topological defects in the context of Grand Unified Theories, focusing in particular in cosmic strings arising as gauge theory…
We discuss cosmic Nielsen-Olesen strings in space-times endowed with a positive cosmological constant. For the cylindrically symmetric, static free cosmic string, we discuss the contribution of the cosmological constant to the angle…
We consider the low energy phenomenology of superstrings. In particular we analyse supersymmetry breaking via gaugino condensate and we compare the phenomenology of the two different approaches to stabilize the dilaton field. We study the…
Topological defects, in particular cosmic strings, give rise to an interesting mechanism for generating the primordial perturbations in the early Universe which are required to explain the present structure. An overview of the cosmic string…
I present a new class of topological string theories, and discuss them in two dimensions as candidates for the string description of large-$N$ QCD. The starting point is a new class of topological sigma models, whose path integral is…