Related papers: Cosmic Filaments from Cosmic Strings
A metastable cosmic-string network is a generic consequence of many grand unified theories (GUTs) when combined with cosmic inflation. Metastable cosmic strings are not topologically stable, but decay on cosmic time scales due to pair…
The matter distribution in the Universe exhibits a rich variety of structures forming the cosmic web. These structures arise from the anisotropic gravitational collapse of primordial density fluctuations and define the pathways along which…
We investigate cosmic sparks from cusps on superconducting cosmic strings in light of the recently discovered millisecond radio burst by Lorimer et al [1]. We find that the observed duration, fluence, spectrum, and event rate can be…
The gravitational wave (GW) signals emitted by a network of cosmic strings are reexamined in view of the possible formation of a network of cosmic superstrings at the end of brane inflation. The reconnection probability $p$ of intersecting…
In these lectures, I review the current status of cosmic strings and cosmic superstrings. I first discuss topological defects in the context of Grand Unified Theories, focusing in particular in cosmic strings arising as gauge theory…
The string-dominated universe locally resembles an open universe, and fits dynamical measures of power spectra, cluster abundances, redshift distortions, lensing constraints, luminosity and angular diameter distance relations and microwave…
We present a novel method for identifying cosmic web filaments using the IllustrisTNG (TNG100) cosmological simulations and investigate the impact of filaments on galaxies. We compare the use of cosmic density field estimates from the…
In previous works we discussed the 21 cm signature of a single cosmic string wake. However the 21 cm brightness temperature is influenced by a network of cosmic string wakes, and not one single wake. In this work we consider the signal from…
Cosmic strings are a common prediction in many grand unified theories and a promising source of stochastic gravitational waves (GWs) from the early Universe. In this paper, we point out that the GW signal from cosmic strings produced at a…
Cosmic string loops contain cusps which decay by emitting bursts of particles. A significant fraction of the released energy is in the form of photons. These photons are injected non-thermally and can hence cause spectral distortions of the…
Observations indicate galaxies are distributed in a filament-dominated web-like structure. Numerical experiments at high and low redshift of viable structure formation theories also show filament-dominance. We present a simple quantitative…
We present updated constraints on cosmic string and superstring parameters derived from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. The constraints are obtained via Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analyses of the full \textit{Planck}…
One of the most interesting predictions of string-inspired cosmological models is the presence of a stochastic background of relic gravitational waves in the frequency band accessible to Earth-based detectors. Here we consider a ``minimal''…
Cosmological simulations suggest that most of the matter in the Universe is distributed along filaments connecting galaxies. Illuminated by the cosmic UV background (UVB), these structures are expected to glow in fluorescent Lyman alpha…
Recent measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies by BOOMERANG and MAXIMA collaborations have tightened the observational constraints on theories of structure formation. They disagree with the predictions of…
We investigate gravitational-wave backgrounds (GWBs) of primordial origin that would manifest only at ultra-high frequencies, from kilohertz to 100 gigahertz, and leave no signal at either LIGO, Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer, LISA, or…
We review the existence, formation and properties of cosmic strings in string theory, the wide variety of observational techniques that are being employed to detect them, and the constraints that current observations impose on string theory…
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…
Early observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed the existence of an unexpectedly large abundance of extremely massive galaxies at redshifts $z \gtrsim 5$: these observations are in tension with the predictions…
Cosmic string networks generate cosmological perturbations actively throughout the history of the universe. Thus, the string sourced anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background is not affected by Silk damping as much as the anisotropy…