Related papers: Cosmic String Detection via Microlensing of Stars
We put robust upper limits on the average cosmological density \Omega_s of cosmic strings based on the variability properties of a large homogeneous sample of SDSS quasars. We search for an excess of characteristic variations of quasar…
Cosmic strings are linear topological defects which are hypothesized to be produced during inflation. Most searches for strings have been relying on the string's lensing of background galaxies or CMB. In this paper I obtained the solution…
Strong gravitational lensing enables a wide range of science: probing cosmography; testing dark matter models; understanding galaxy evolution; and magnifying the faint, small and distant Universe. However to date exploiting strong lensing…
Recent observations of lensed galaxies at cosmological distances have detected individual stars that are extremely magnified when crossing the caustics of lensing clusters. In idealized cluster lenses with smooth mass distributions, two…
The predictions of the inflationary LCDM paradigm match today's high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy extremely well. The same data put tight limits on other sources of anisotropy. Cosmic strings are a…
We show that a space-based gravitational microlensing survey for terrestrial extra-solar planets is feasible in the near future, and could provide a nearly complete picture of the properties of planetary systems in our Galaxy. We present…
The lensing effect of a cosmic string is studied, and some new methods are proposed to detect the cosmic string. The technique for using jets as extended gravitational lensing probes was firstly explored by Kronberg. We use the…
We study the effect of weak lensing by cosmic (super-)strings on the anisotropies of cosmic microwave background (CMB). In developing a method to calculate the lensing convergence field due to strings, and thereby temperature and…
Microlensing events provide a unique way to detect and measure the masses of isolated, non-luminous objects, particularly dark stellar remnants. Under certain conditions, it is possible to measure the mass of these objects using photometry…
Making use of the wealth of new observational data coming from the sky it is possible to constrain particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model. One way to do this is illustrated in this article: a subset of theories admits cosmic…
Junctions on cosmic string loops give rise to the proliferation of sharp kinks. We study the effect of this proliferation on the gravitational wave (GW) signals emitted from string networks with junctions, assuming a scaling solution. We…
A high optical depth to gravitational microlensing towards the galactic bulge is consistent with current models of the galactic bar. The low optical depth towards the LMC can probably be accounted for by the ordinary stars in our galaxy and…
Cosmic strings are linear concentrations of energy that may be formed at phase transitions in the very early universe. At one time they were thought to provide a possible origin for the density inhomogeneities from which galaxies eventually…
We study the phenomenology of string bosenova explosions in vector superradiance clouds around spinning black holes, focusing on the observable consequences in gravitational wave detectors and accelerometers. During the growth of the…
Vector perturbations sourced by topological defects can generate rotations in the lensing of background galaxies. This is a potential smoking gun for the existence of defects since rotation generates a curl-like component in the weak…
We compute the stochastic gravitational wave background generated by cosmic superstrings using a semi-analytical velocity-dependent model to describe their dynamics. We show that heavier string types may leave distinctive signatures on the…
We perform a Fisher matrix calculation of the predicted uncertainties on estimates of the cosmic string tension Gmu from upcoming observational data (namely, cosmic microwave background power spectra from the Planck satellite and an…
We present a cosmic string on a warped five dimensional space time in Einstein-Yang-Mills theory. Four-dimensional cosmic strings show some serious problems concerning the mechanism of string smoothing related to the string mass per unit…
We present constraints on a cosmic string network with a measurement of weak gravitational lensing from CMB temperature map. The cosmic string network between observer and last scattering surface of CMB photons generates vector and/or…
Due to dramatic improvements in the precision of astrometric measurements, the observation of light centroid shifts in observed stars due to intervening massive compact objects (`astrometric microlensing') will become possible in the near…