Related papers: Defect formation from defect--anti-defect annihila…
I analyze the interplay of gauge and global symmetries in the theory of topological defects. In a two-dimensional model in which both gauge symmetries and {\it exact} global symmetries are spontaneously broken, stable vortices may fail to…
Lattice defects in crystalline materials create long-range elastic fields which can be modelled on the atomistic scale using an infinite system of discrete nonlinear force balance equations. Starting with these equations, this work…
We present experimental and theoretical results on formation of quantum vortices in a laser beam propagating in a nonlinear medium. Topological constrains richer than the mere conservation of vorticity impose an elaborate dynamical behavior…
We review two methods used to approach the condensation of defects phenomenon. Analyzing in details their structure, we show that in the limit where the defects proliferate until occupy the whole space these two methods are dual equivalent…
The subject of topological defects has become a very attractive field of study given its apparent relevance to as diverse systems as the early universe and condensed matter. As usually envisaged the topology of the manifold M of the minima…
We show that annihilation dynamics between oppositely charged optical vortex pairs can be manipulated by the initial size of the vortex cores, consistent with hydrodynamics. When sufficiently close together, vortices with strongly…
Topological defects are one of the most conspicuous features of liquid crystals. In two dimensional nematics, they have been shown to behave effectively as particles with both, charge and orientation, which dictate their interactions. Here,…
An interpretation is suggested that a spontaneous compactification of space-time can be regarded as a topological defect in a higher-dimensional Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) theory. We start with $D$-dimensional EYM theory in our present…
Yang-Mills instantons in a pure Yang-Mills theory in four Euclidean space can be promoted to particle-like topological solitons in d=4+1 dimensional space-time. When coupled to Higgs fields, they transform themselves in the Higgs phase into…
The phenomenon of creation of strings, occurring when particles pass through a domain wall and related to the Hanany-Witten effect via dualities, is discussed in ten and nine dimensions. We consider both the particle actions in massive…
We investigate the dynamics of second order phase transitions in two dimensions, breaking a gauged U(1) symmetry. Using numerical simulations, we show that the density of topological defects formed scales with the quench timescale $\tau_Q$…
The axion Weak Gravity Conjecture implies that when parametrically increasing the axion decay constants, instanton corrections become increasingly important. We provide strong evidence for the validity of this conjecture by studying the…
Models with axion like particles (ALPs) often predict the formation of a string-domain wall network in the early universe. We study how such networks of defects appear in the context of string theory, and discuss the conditions for their…
Gapped domain walls, as topological line defects between 2+1D topologically ordered states, are examined. We provide simple criteria to determine the existence of gapped domain walls, which apply to both Abelian and non-Abelian topological…
Many particle physics models of matter admit solutions corresponding to stable or long-lived topological defects. In the context of standard cosmology it is then unavoidable that such defects will form during phase transitions in the very…
Enslaved phase-separation fronts that move with a speed just smaller than that of a free front will leave in their wake a morphology of alternating domains that are roughly aligned with the front. However, these alternating domains will…
We consider the gravitational collapse of a dust cloud in an asymptotically anti de Sitter spacetime in which points connected by a discrete subgroup of an isometry subgroup of anti de Sitter spacetime are identified. We find that black…
Topological defects (such as monopoles, vortex lines, or domain walls) mark locations where disparate choices of a broken symmetry vacuum elsewhere in the system lead to irreconcilable differences. They are energetically costly (the energy…
Observations of protoplanetary disks have revealed the presence of both crescent-shaped and ring-like structures in dust continuum emission. These crescents are thought to arise from dust-trapping vortices generated by the Rossby Wave…
Thermal inflation is an attractive solution to the cosmological moduli problem. However, domain walls may be formed after thermal inflation and some mechanisms are needed to eliminate the domain wall before it dominates the Universe. We…