Related papers: Non-topological Cycloops
The distance between BPS branes in string theory corresponds to a flat direction in the effective potential. Small deviations from supersymmetry may lead to a small uplifting of this flat direction and to brane inflation. However, this…
We show that, in the context of dilaton gravity, a recently proposed democratic principle for intersection possibilities of branes winding around extra dimensions yield stabilization, even with the inclusion of momentum modes of the wrapped…
We modify the standard Abelian-Higgs model by introducing spatially-dependent couplings for the scalar and vector fields. We investigate static, non-cylindrically symmetric solutions of the resulting field equations and propose a pinch…
This is a short review on strings in curved spacetimes. We start by recalling the classical and quantum string behaviour in singular plane waves backgrounds. We then report on the string behaviour in cosmological spacetimes (FRW, de Sitter,…
We investigate the evolution of small perturbations around black strings and branes which are low energy solutions of string theory. For simplicity we focus attention on the zero charge case and show that there are unstable modes for a…
We show that cosmological observables can constrain the topology of the compact additional dimensions predicted by string theory. To do this, we develop a general strategy for relating cosmological observables to the microscopic parameters…
Closed string field theory is constructed by stochastically quantizing a matrix model for Polyakov loops that describes phases of a large N gauge theory at finite temperature. Coherent states in this string field theory describes winding…
We study the impact of kinks on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies generated by cosmic string networks. To do so, we extend the Unconnected Segment Model to describe the stress-energy tensor of a network of cosmic strings…
An overview is presented of some cosmological aspects of string theory. Recent developments are emphasised, especially the attempts to derive inflation or alternatives to inflation from the dynamics of branes in string theory. Time…
In this thesis, we explore three phenomenological alternatives to the current paradigm of the standard inflationary big bang scenario. The three alternative themes are spin torsion (or Einstein-Cartan-Kibble-Sciama) theories, extra…
We consider the possibility of extra spinning particles during inflation, focussing on the spin-2 case. Our analysis relies on the well-known fully non-linear formulation of interacting spin-2 theories. We explore the parameter space of the…
D-branes are fundamental in all scenarios where there are large extra dimensions and the string scale is much smaller than the four-dimensional Planck mass. We show that this current picture leads to a new approach to string cosmology where…
Motivated by the string landscape we examine scenarios for which inflation is a two-step process, with a comparatively short inflationary epoch near the string scale and a longer period at a much lower energy (like the TeV scale). We…
We study a string theory inspired model for hybrid inflation in the context of a brane-antibrane system partially compactified on a compact submanifold of (a caricature of) a Calabi-Yau manifold. The interbrane distance acts as the…
I review type IIB string compactifications in which the three-form field strengths satisfy a self-duality condition on the internal manifold. I begin with an overview of the models, giving preliminary formulae and several points of view…
This proceedings contribution provides an overview of Loop Blow-up Inflation and updates its observational predictions and their comparison with the latest CMB and BAO data from combined analyses of SPT, Planck, ACT, and BICEP/Keck, as well…
Extra dimensions are present in many beyond the Standard Model scenarios, most notably in string theory. However, direct signatures of extra dimensions are difficult to observe in many cases. This is the situation, for example, if the…
In the context of the black hole/string transition, it is useful to produce Euclidean string backgrounds representing hot and self-gravitating strings. We utilise analytical and numerical methods to find a smooth, stationary rotating…
In this review article, we present a systematic study of large volume type IIB string compactifications that addresses several interesting issues in string cosmology and string phenomenology within a single string compactification scheme.…
In this paper we argue that the mechanism of unwinding inflation is naturally present in warped compactifications of type IIB string theory with local throats. The unwinding of flux is caused by its annihilation against branes. The…