Related papers: Axion strings are superconducting
We investigate the emission of vector radiation by superconducting cosmic string loops, deriving general relations to characterize the vector radiation emission efficiency, and study its impact on the evolution of loops. Building on these…
String theories suggest the existence of a plethora of axion-like fields with masses spread over a huge number of decades. Here we show that these ideas lend themselves to a model of quintessence with no super-Planckian field excursions and…
We review applications of string theory to cosmology, from primordial times to the present-day accelerated expansion. Starting with a brief overview of cosmology and string compactifications, we discuss in detail moduli stabilisation,…
When axionic strings carry a global charge, domain walls bounded by such strings may not be allowed to decay completely. This happens in particular in some models where a composite axion-like particle is the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson of…
Behaviour of Dirac fermions in the background of a charged black string penetrated by an Abelian Higgs vortex is elaborated. One finds the evidence that the system under consideration can support fermion fields acting like a superconducting…
Electromagnetic radiation from superconducting cosmic string loops can reionize neutral hydrogen in the universe at very early epochs, and affect the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization correlation functions at…
We study the evolution of cosmic strings taking into account the frictional force due to the surrounding radiation. We consider small perturbations on straight strings, oscillation of circular loops and small perturbations on circular…
It has recently been suggested that the presence of a plenitude of light axions, an Axiverse, is evidence for the extra dimensions of string theory. We discuss the observational consequences of these axions on astrophysical black holes…
Global strings (those which couple to Goldstone modes) may play a role in cosmology. In particular, if the QCD axion exists, axionic strings may control the efficiency of axionic dark matter abundance. The string network dynamics depend on…
We investigate the stability of superconducting strings as bound states of strings and fermion zero modes at both the classical and quantum levels. The dynamics of these superconducting strings can result in a stable configuration, known as…
Axions are produced during a period of dilaton-driven inflation by amplification of quantum fluctuations. We show that for some range of string cosmology parameters and some range of axion masses, primordial axions may constitute a large…
It is shown that it is possible for bound fermions on a cosmic string to form a superconducting state. Due to the attractive force between them, particles moving in opposite directions along the string form bound pairs. This involves a…
Vortons are closed loops of superconducting cosmic strings carrying current and charge. In this paper we present the first numerical construction of vortons in the global version of Witten's U(1)xU(1) theory. An energy minimization…
We show that axion phenomenology may be significantly different than conventionally assumed in theories which exhibit late phase transitions (below the QCD scale). In such theories one can find multiple pseudoscalars with axion-like…
In the string axiverse scenario, light primordial black holes may spin up due to the Hawking emission of a large number of light (sub-MeV) axions. We show that this may trigger superradiant instabilities associated with a heavier axion…
We argue that cosmic strings with high winding numbers generally form in first-order gauge symmetry breaking phase transitions, and we demonstrate this using computer simulations. These strings are heavier than single-winding strings and…
The topic of cosmic strings provides a bridge between the physics of the very small and the very large. They are predicted by some unified theories of particle interactions. If they exist, they may help to explain some of the largest-scale…
At large baryon number density, it is likely that the ground state of QCD is a color-flavor-locked phase with a K0 condensate. The CFL+K0 phase is known to support superconducting vortex strings, and it has been previously suggested that it…
We study the minimal requirements to obtain axion strings for axions with exponentially good quality. These ingredients appear in theories where an axion coming from a higher-form gauge field mixes with the phase of a complex scalar field…
A brief discussion is presented assessing the achievements and challenges of string phenomenology: the subfield dedicated to study the potential for string theory to make contact with particle physics and cosmology. Building from the well…