Related papers: Dark Strings
Cosmic strings can arise in hidden sector models with a spontaneously broken Abelian symmetry group. We have studied the couplings of the Standard Model fields to these so-called dark strings in the companion paper. Here we survey the…
In hidden sector models with an extra U(1) gauge group, new fields can interact with the Standard Model only through gauge kinetic mixing and the Higgs portal. After the U(1) is spontaneously broken, these interactions couple the resultant…
We consider the Standard Model extended by a hidden sector U(1)_X symmetry that is spontaneously broken at the TeV scale by the vacuum expectation value of an additional scalar field. We study "dark string" solutions in this model and their…
Hidden sectors in connection with GeV-scale dark forces and dark matter are not only a common feature of physics beyond the Standard Model such as string theory and SUSY but are also phenomenologically of great interest regarding recent…
Motivated by astrophysical observations of excess electronic production in the galaxy, new theoretical models of the dark matter sector have been proposed in which the Standard model couples to the dark matter sector through an attractive…
Many difficulties are encountered when attempting to pinpoint a common origin for several observed astrophysical anomalies, and when assessing their tension with existing exclusion limits. These include systematic uncertainties affecting…
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…
Four-dimensional string theories predict in general the existence of light exotic particles with fractional electric charges. Such particles could escape present observations if they are confined by a gauge group of the "hidden" sector into…
Cosmic strings are predicted in many models beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In models which admit strings, a network of strings will inevitably be formed in a phase transition in the early universe and will persist to the…
The increasing quality of cosmological data has revealed some tensions that could be signalling the necessity of incorporating new physics into our cosmological model. One particularly intriguing possibility is the existence of elastic…
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge…
We consider models of dark matter where the couplings between the standard model and the dark sector fall at resonance due to kinematics and direct detection experiments become insensitive. To be specific, we consider a simple model of 100…
Despite the observational success of the standard model of cosmology, present-day observations do not tightly constrain the nature of dark matter and dark energy and modifications to the theory of general relativity. Here, we will discuss…
The idea that dark-matter interactions with Standard-Model particles may be mediated by new bosons with masses in the MeV-to-GeV range took off several years ago. Constraints on such models were soon calculated based on older measurements.…
Cosmologically long-lived, composite states arise as natural dark matter candidates in theories with a strongly interacting hidden sector at a scale of 10 - 100 TeV. Light axion-like states, with masses in the 1 MeV - 10 GeV range, are also…
Minimal scenarios with light (sub-GeV) thermal dark matter are usually accompanied by a correspondingly light "dark sector". Taking as an example a simple fermionic dark matter model, we will show that the presence of the dark sector plays…
We investigate cosmological constraints on phenomenological models with discrete gauge symmetries by discussing the radiation of standard model particles from Aharonov-Bohm strings. Using intersecting D-brane models in Type IIA string…
We review the current observational status of string cosmology when confronted with experimental datasets. We begin by defining common observational parameters and discuss how they are determined for a given model. Then we review the…
Cosmic strings are topological defects possibly formed in the early Universe, which may be observable due to their gravitational effects on the cosmic microwave background radiation or gravitational wave experiments. To this effect it is…
Recently there has been much interest in hidden sectors, especially in the context of dark matter and dark forces, since they are a common feature of beyond standard model scenarios like string theory and SUSY and additionally exhibit…