Related papers: Constraints on the fundamental string coupling fro…
Precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model. However, there is some tension between the value of the Hubble…
We investigate a static, cylindrically symmetric cosmic string on the brane without a perturbative approximation. We find there could be a (large) enhancement of the (effective) string tension when the energy density at the center of the…
We investigate the cosmological and astrophysical constraints on superconducting cosmic strings (SCSs). SCS loops emit strong bursts of electromagnetic waves, which might affect various cosmological and astrophysical observations. We take…
We investigate signatures of neutrino scattering in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and matter power spectra, and the extent to which present cosmological data can distinguish between a free streaming or tightly coupled fluid of…
Pre-Big-Bang models in string cosmology predict a relic background of gravitational wave radiation in the early universe. The spectrum of this background shows that the energy density rises rapidly with frequency, which is an interesting…
We constrain the cosmological density of cosmic string loops using two observational signatures -- gravitational microlensing and the Kaiser-Stebbins effect. Photometry from RXTE and CoRoT space missions and pulsar timing from Parkes Pulsar…
We study the observational constraints of CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies on models of dark energy, with special focus on models with variation in properties of dark energy with time. We demonstrate that the key constraint…
We study the stochastic gravitational wave background sourced by a network of cosmic superstrings and demonstrate that incorporating higher-mass string species, beyond the fundamental string, is crucial for accurately modelling the…
Many symmetry breaking patterns in grand unified theories (GUTs) give rise to cosmic strings that eventually decay when pairs of GUT monopoles spontaneously nucleate along the string cores. These strings are known as metastable cosmic…
The B-mode polarization in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies at large angular scales provides a smoking-gun evidence for the primordial gravitational waves (GWs). It is often stated that a discovery of the GWs establishes…
The search for primordial gravitational waves is a central goal of cosmic microwave background (CMB) surveys. Isolating the characteristic $B$-mode polarization signal sourced by primordial gravitational waves is challenging for several…
We study the stability of superconducting strings in a U(1)_{local} x U(1)_{global} model coupled via a gauge field interaction term to U(1) Abelian-Higgs strings. The effect of the interaction on current stability is numerically…
Cosmic birefringence -- the rotation of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons as they travel to the Earth -- is a smoking gun for axion-like particles (ALPs) that interact with the photon. It has recently been…
We examine the potential of polarization bispectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to constrain primordial magnetic fields (PMFs). We compute all possible bispectra between temperature and polarization anisotropies sourced by PMFs…
We consider the case of a coupling in the dark cosmological sector, where a dark energy scalar field modifies the gravitational attraction between dark matter particles. We find that the strength of the coupling {\beta} is constrained using…
We argue that cosmic strings with high winding numbers generally form in first-order gauge symmetry breaking phase transitions, and we demonstrate this using computer simulations. These strings are heavier than single-winding strings and…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…
Because cosmic superstrings generically form junctions and gauge theoretic strings typically do not, junctions may provide a signature to distinguish between cosmic superstrings and gauge theoretic cosmic strings. In cosmic microwave…
The primordial B-modes component of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization is a promising experimental dataset to probe the inflationary paradigm. B-modes are indeed a direct consequence of the presence of gravitational waves in…
We provide an analytical expression for the trispectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropies induced by cosmic strings. Our result is derived for the small angular scales under the assumption that the…