Related papers: Can type II Semi-local cosmic strings form?
We address the question of finding stable and metastable cosmic strings in quasi-realistic heterotic M-theory compactifications with stabilized moduli. According to Polchinski's conjecture, the only stable strings in the absence of massless…
The Kaluza-Klein linear dilaton background of the bosonic string and the Scherk-Schwarz linear dilaton background of the superstring are shown to be unstable to the decay of half of spacetime. The decay proceeds via a condensation of a…
In about half of all near-cusp events in superconducting cosmic strings with chiral currents (and probably with general currents as well), the string intersects itself near the cusp. Intercommutation causes the conversion of the string near…
In this paper we show how quantum corrections, although perturbatively small, may play an important role in the analysis of the existence of some classical models. This, in fact, appears to be the case of static, uniform--density models of…
We propose novel structure formation scenarios based on a non-singular higher curvature cosmological model. The model is motivated by the $R^2$ coupling of a scalar field appearing in the string theory, and in our scenarios the universe has…
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…
We demonstrate that field theories involving explicit breaking of continous symmetries, incorporate two generic classes of topological defects each of which is stable for a particular range of parameters. The first class includes defects of…
This investigation is concerned with cosmological scenarios based on particle physics theories that give rise to superconducting cosmic strings (whose subsequent evolution may produce stable loop configurations known as vortons). Cases in…
We investigate the microphysics of cosmic strings in Nonabelian gauge theories with N=1 supersymmetry. We give the vortex solutions in a specific example and demonstrate that fermionic superconductivity arises because of the couplings and…
In the framework of the gauge symmetry ${SU(2)}_{\tiny{CMB}}\times {SU(2)}_{\tiny{e}}\times {SU(2)}_{\tiny{\mu}}\times {SU(2)}_{\tiny{\tau}}$ we provide a microscopic argument why a spontaneously broken, local Z$_2$ symmetry surviving the…
A novel mechanism to produce a cosmic network of fundamental superstrings based on a time-varying string tension has been recently proposed. It has been found that fundamental superstrings can grow in a kinating background driven by the…
Non-abelian (NA) topological string defects exist in QCD with the spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking $U(N_f)_L \times U(N_f)_R \to U(N_f)_V$. Anomaly effects lead to domain walls connected to these strings. In the framework of linear…
It is well-known that localized topological defects (solitons) experience recoil when they suffer an impact by incident particles. Higher-dimensional topological defects develop distinctive wave patterns propagating along their worldvolume…
We present a detailed analysis of {\it excited} cosmic string solutions which possess superconducting currents. These currents can be excited inside the string core, and - if the condensate is large enough - can lead to the excitations of…
A new cosmic string model specified by two independent mass parameters is introduced for the purpose of providing a realistic representation of the macroscopic dynamical behaviour of Witten type (superconducting) vortex defects of the…
We provide a thorough exposition of recent results on the quantum stabilization of cosmic strings. Stabilization occurs through the coupling to a heavy fermion doublet in a reduced version of the standard model. The study combines the…
In General Relativity, cosmic strings are well known to produce a static, locally flat spacetime with a wedge removed. If the tension exceeds a critical value, the deficit angle becomes larger than $ 2\pi $, leading to a compact exterior…
We carry out three-dimensional numerical simulations to investigate the formation rate of semilocal strings. We find that the back-reaction of the gauge fields on the scalar field evolution is substantial, and leads to a significant…
Metastable strings can arise from a two-step symmetry breaking chain of the type $SU(2) \to U(1) \to 1$.They can decay through quantum tunneling by nucleating a monopole-antimonopole pair, and are prominent candidates for explaining the…
In this article we discuss a construction of non-SUSY type II string vacua with the vanishing cosmological constant at the one loop level based on the generic Gepner models for Calabi-Yau 3-folds. We make an orbifolding of the Gepner models…