Related papers: Cosmic Strings
We introduce the notion of the cosmic numbers of a cosmological model, and discuss how they can be used to naturally classify models according to their ability to solve some of the problems of the standard cosmological model.
Invited contribution to the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics (2nd edition), providing an overview over some main ideas and results in quantum cosmology. Key points: Canonical quantisation of homogeneous, isotropic cosmology; discussion…
The second string revolution, which begin around 1995, has led to a drastic alteration in our perception of the universe, perhaps even more so then did the first string revolution of 1984. That is, extending 10-dimensional string theory to…
We show that it is possible to construct a consistent model describing a current-carrying cosmic string endowed with torsion. The torsion contribution to the gravitational force and geodesics of a test-particle moving around the SCCS are…
String gas cosmology is an approach towards studying the effects of superstring theory on early universe cosmology which is based on new symmetries and new degrees of freedom of string theory. Within this context, it appears possible to…
Cosmic superstrings are introduced to non-experts. First D-branes and $(p,q)$ strings are discussed. Then we explain how tachyon condensation in the early universe may have produced F, D and $(p,q)$ strings. Warped geometries which can…
I address the issue of spacetime dimensionality within Kaluza-Klein theories and theories with large extra dimensions. I review the arguments explaining the dimensionality of the universe, within the framework of string gas cosmology and…
This is an introduction to some recent developments in string theory and M theory. We try to concentrate on the main physical aspects, and often leave more technical details to the original literature.
A large class of string-cosmology backgrounds leads to a spectrum of relic stochastic gravitational waves, strongly tilted towards high frequencies, and characterized by two basic parameters of the cosmological model. We estimate the…
The search for cosmic strings has been of renewed interest with the advent of precision cosmology. In this note we give a quantitative description of the nonlinear matter density fluctuations that can form from a scaling network of cosmic…
The mystery of the cosmological constant is probably the most pressing obstacle to significantly improving the models of elementary particle physics derived from string theory. The problem arises because in the standard framework of low…
We consider the propagation of classical and quantum strings on cosmological space-times which interpolate from a collapsing phase to an expanding phase. We begin by considering the classical propagation of strings on space-times with…
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…
The supporting worldsheet of a string, membrane, or other higher dimensional brane, is analysed in terms of its first, second, and third fundamental tensors, and its inner and outer curvature tensors. The dynamical equations governing the…
We investigate the contribution made by small loops from a cosmic string network as seeds for large-scale structure formation. We show that cosmic string loops are highly correlated with the long-string network on large scales and therefore…
We review recent progress in string cosmology, where string dualities are applied so as to obtain complete cosmological evolutions, free of any essential singularities. Two classes of models are analyzed. The first class consists of string…
The aim of these lectures is to give a brief introduction to brane cosmology. After introducing some basic geometrical notions, we discuss the cosmology of a brane universe with matter localized on the brane. Then we introduce an intrinsic…
We study the formation and evolution of an interconnected string network in large-scale field-theory numerical simulations, both in flat spacetime and in expanding universe. The network consists of gauge U(1) strings of two different kinds…
We show that if a cosmic string exists, it may be identified through characteristic diffraction pattern in the energy spectrum of the observed signal. In particular, if the string is on the line of sight, the wave field is shown to fit the…
We extend and develop our previous work on the evolution of a network of cosmic strings. The new treatment is based on an analysis of the probability distribution of the end-to-end distance of a randomly chosen segment of left-moving string…