Related papers: Cosmic Strings and Weak Gravitational Lensing
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…
Models of string cosmology predict a stochastic background of gravitational waves with a spectrum that is strongly tilted towards high frequencies. I give simple approximate expressions for spectral densities of the cosmic background which…
We study cosmic strings in the complex symmetron model, a scalar-tensor theory with a spontaneously broken local $U(1)$ symmetry in low matter density regions. Using numerical simulations, we show that these strings preferentially attach to…
The search for cosmic strings has been of renewed interest with the advent of precision cosmology. In this note we give a quantitative description of the nonlinear matter density fluctuations that can form from a scaling network of cosmic…
Gravitational and massless particle radiation of straight cosmic strings with finite thickness is studied analytically. It is found that the non-linear interaction of the radiation fields emitted by a cosmic string with the ones of the…
Weak gravitational lensing observations probe the spectrum and evolution of density fluctuations and the cosmological parameters which govern them. The non-linear evolution of large scale structure produces a non-Gaussian signal which is…
It has been suggested that cosmic strings produced at a phase transition in the early universe can be the origin of the extremely high energy cosmic rays (EHCR) observed by AGASA above 10^20 eV. Superheavy cosmic strings with linear mass…
We consider a population of small, high-velocity cosmic string loops. We assume the typical length of these loops is determined by the gravitational radiation scale and use the results of \cite{Polchinski:2007rg} which pointed out their…
Spectra of the stochastic gravitational wave backgrounds from cosmic strings are calculated and compared with present and future experimental limits. Background spectra are calculated numerically for dimensionless string tensions G mu/c^2…
Cosmic strings are a common prediction in many grand unified theories and a promising source of stochastic gravitational waves (GWs) from the early Universe. In this paper, we point out that the GW signal from cosmic strings produced at a…
A new candidate source of gravitational radiation is described: the nearly-perfect harmonic series from individual loops of cosmic string. It is argued that theories with light cosmic strings give rise to a population of numerous long-lived…
We describe the detailed study and results of high-resolution numerical simulations of string-induced structure formation in open universes and those with a non-zero cosmological constant. The effect from small loops generated from the…
We review theory and applications of weak gravitational lensing. After summarising Friedmann-Lemaitre cosmological models, we present the formalism of gravitational lensing and light propagation in arbitrary space-times. We discuss how…
One of the most interesting predictions of string-inspired cosmological models is the presence of a stochastic background of relic gravitational waves in the frequency band accessible to Earth-based detectors. Here we consider a ``minimal''…
Cosmic strings can give rise to a large variety of interesting astrophysical phenomena. Among them, powerful bursts of gravitational waves (GWs) produced by cusps are a promising observational signature. In this Letter we present a search…
Weak gravitational lensing is responsible for the shearing and magnification of the images of high-redshift sources due to the presence of intervening matter. The distortions are due to fluctuations in the gravitational potential, and are…
We measure the weak lensing shear around galaxy troughs, i.e. the radial alignment of background galaxies relative to underdensities in projections of the foreground galaxy field over a wide range of redshift in Science Verification data…
We study the collapse of a circular loop of cosmic string. The gravitational field of the string is treated using the weak field approximation. The gravitational radiation from the loop is evaluated numerically. The memtric of the loop near…
Gravitational lensing and black hole shadows are one of the strongest observational evidences to prove the existence of black holes in the universe. The gravitational lensing arises due to the deflection of light by the gravitational field…
We propose to use a simple observable, the fractional area of "hot spots" in weak gravitational lensing mass maps which are detected with high significance, to determine background cosmological parameters. Because these high-convergence…