Related papers: Non-Abelian Strings in High Density QCD: Zero Mode…
Flat directions are a generic feature of the scalar potential in supersymmetric gauge field theories. They can arise, for example, from D-terms associated with an extra abelian gauge symmetry. Even when supersymmetry is broken softly, there…
Interactions between non-BPS non-Abelian vortices are studied in non-Abelian U(1) x SU(N) extensions of the Abelian-Higgs model in four dimensions. In addition to the usual type I/II Abelian superconductors, we find other two new regimes:…
Dense distributions of string-like objects in material media are considered in terms of continuum field theory. The strings are assumed to carry a quantized abelian topological charge, such as the Burgers vector of dislocations in solids or…
Contrary to the standard model that does not admit topologically nontrivial solitons, two Higgs doublet models admit topologically stable vortex strings and domain walls. We numerically confirm the existence of a topological $Z$-string…
The quantum worldsheet dynamics of vortex strings contains information about the 4d non-Abelian gauge theory in which the string lives. Here I tell this story. The string worldsheet theory is typically some variant of the CP^{N-1}…
We obtain an effective string theory of the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices of the Abelian Higgs model. The theory has an anomaly free effective string action which, when the extrinsic curvature is set equal to zero, yields the Nambu-Goto…
We investigate numerically the configurational statistics of strings. The algorithm models an ensemble of global $U(1)$ cosmic strings, or equivalently vortices in superfluid $^4$He. We use a new method which avoids the specification of…
It has been shown that the non-Abelian vortex string in 4D $\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD with the U(2) gauge group and $N_f=4$ flavors becomes a critical superstring. Its 10D target space is a product of the flat 4D space and an internal noncompact…
We consider non-Abelian strings in N=2 supersymmetric QCD with the U$(N)$ gauge group and $N_f=N$ quark flavors deformed by a mass term for the adjoint matter. This deformation breaks N=2 supersymmetry down to N=1. Dynamics of orientational…
A full quantum description of global vortex strings is presented in the framework of a pure Higgs system with a broken global U(1) symmetry in 3+1D. An explicit expression for the string creation operator is obtained, both in terms of the…
As is well established, several gauge theories admit vortices whose mean life time is very large. In some cases, this stability is a consequence of the topology of the symmetry group of the underlying theory. The main focus of the present…
Superconductors are the only experimentally accessible systems with spontaneously broken gauge symmetries which support topologically nontrivial defects, namely string defects. We propose two experiments whose aim is the observation of the…
Linear defects are generic in continuous media. In quantum systems they appear as topological line defects which are associated with a circulating persistent current. In relativistic quantum vacuum they are known as cosmic strings, in…
We study the effect of background fluxes of general Hodge type on the supersymmetry conditions and on the fermionic zero modes on the world-volume of a Euclidean M5/D3-brane in M-theory/type IIB string theory. Using the naive susy variation…
Lattice studies indicate existence of magnetic strings in QCD vacuum. We argue that recently found nonabelian strings with rich worldsheet dynamics provide a proper pattern for the strings observed on the lattice. In particular, within this…
It has been shown that non-Abelian vortex string supported in four dimensional (4D) ${\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) with the U(2) gauge group and $N_f = 4$ quark flavors becomes a critical superstring. This string propagates in…
The interaction of defects can lead to a phenomenon of erasure. During this process, a lower-dimensional object gets absorbed and dissolved by a higher-dimensional one. The phenomenon is very general and has a wide range of implications,…
Semilocal strings are vortices in the extended Abelian-Higgs model with two complex Higgs scalar fields among which a global $SU(2)$ symmetry acts. They are known to be stable (unstable against expansion) in type-I (II) superconductors, in…
Zero modes of strings in the abelian Higgs model are analyzed. In spite of the fact that the gauge symmetry is not broken in the string center, the corresponding zero mode is shown to exist and to see it one has to analyze carefully the…
We study the low-energy dynamics of semi-classical vortex strings living above Argyres-Douglas superconformal field theories. The worldsheet theory of the string is shown to be a deformation of the CP^N model which flows in the infra-red to…