Related papers: Scaling properties of cosmological axion strings
We continue a comprehensive numerical study of semilocal string networks and their cosmological evolution. These can be thought of as hybrid networks comprised of (non-topological) string segments, whose core structure is similar to that of…
The dynamics of string junctions and their influence on the evolution of cosmic superstring networks are studied in full detail. We review kinematic constraints for colliding strings in a Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker background and…
We discuss and summarise the predictions of a model for the non-equilibrium evolution of a network of cosmic strings initially containing {\em only loops} and {\em no infinite strings}. The results are of interest given recent work…
Cosmic strings are topological defects which can be formed in GUT-scale phase transitions in the early universe. They are also predicted to form in the context of string theory. The main mechanism for a network of Nambu-Goto cosmic strings…
The recent BICEP2 result shows that the Universe once has gone through the vacuum with the GUT scale energy density. The implied high scale inflation nullifies the dilution idea of topological defects, strings and domain walls, of the…
The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which includes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in constructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that these…
We construct a new model of four-dimensional relativistic strings with integrable dynamics on the worldsheet. In addition to translational modes this model contains a single massless pseudoscalar worldsheet field - the worldsheet axion. The…
We develop a semi-analytical model to describe the cosmological evolution of networks of cosmic strings with small-scale structure, by extending the velocity-dependent one-scale model to include an additional lengthscale describing the…
The cosmological evolution of topological defect networks can broadly be divided into two stages. At early times they are friction-dominated due to particle scattering and therefore non-relativistic, and may either be conformally stretched…
Semilocal strings -- a particular limit of electroweak strings -- are an interesting example of a stable non-topological defect whose properties resemble those of their topological cousins, the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices. There is,…
We analyze the spectrum of axions radiated from collapse of domain walls, which have received less attention in the literature. The evolution of topological defects related to the axion models is investigated by performing field-theoretic…
The QCD axion solving the strong CP problem may originate from antisymmetric tensor gauge fields in compactified string theory, with a decay constant around the GUT scale. Such possibility appears to be ruled out now by the detection of…
We examine the compatibility between the one scale model with friction for the evolution of cosmic string networks with the Kibble mechanism for string network formation during a second order phase transition. We find a regime which…
We discuss the semi-classical perturbation spectra produced in the massless fields of the low energy string action in a pre big bang type scenario. Axion fields may possess an almost scale-invariant spectrum on large scales dependent upon…
Motivated by recent developments in superstring theory in the cosmological context, we examine a field theory which contains string networks with 3-way junctions. We perform numerical simulations of this model, identify the length scales of…
We use the velocity-dependent one-scale model by Martins & Shellard to investigate the evolution of a GUT long cosmic string network in arbitrary Friedmann-Lemaitre models. Four representative models are used to show that in general there…
We study the contribution to the QCD axion dark matter abundance that is produced by string defects during the so-called scaling regime. Clear evidence of scaling violations is found, the most conservative extrapolation of which strongly…
We investigate the non-gaussian properties of cosmic-string-seeded linear density perturbations with cold and hot dark matter backgrounds, using high-resolution numerical simulations. We compute the one-point probability density function of…
Axionic cosmic string solutions are investigated in a superstring motivated model with a pseudo-anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry. The inclusion of a gauge field and spatially varying dilaton allow local defect solutions with finite energy per…
Cosmic strings provide a radically different paradigm for the formation of structure to the prevailing inflationary one. They afford some extra technical complications: for example, the calculation of the power spectrum of matter and…