Related papers: Axion strings are superconducting
Axions seem ubiquitous in string theories and some of them may be produced non-thermally by heavy scalar decays, contributing to dark radiation. We study various cosmological effects of photons produced from the axionic dark radiation…
In string gas cosmology, the extra dimensions of the underlying theory are kept at a microscopic scale by a gas of strings. In the matter-dominated era, however, dust pressure can lead to oscillations of the extra dimensions and to…
We study the time evolution of the quantum fluctuations of the axion field for both the QCD axion as well as axions arising in the context of supergravity and string theories. We explicitly keep track not only of the coherently oscillating…
We study the impact of QCD axion strings in the cosmological history of electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking, focussing on the minimal KSVZ axion model. We consider the case of the pure SM Higgs potential as well as a simple scenario with a…
Large field excursions are required in a number of axion models of inflation. These models also possess global cosmic strings, around which the axion follows a path mirroring the inflationary trajectory. Cosmic strings are thus an…
The decay of non-topological electroweak strings formed during the electroweak phase transition in the early universe may leave an observable imprint in the universe today. Such strings can naturally seed primordial magnetic fields.…
Grand unified theories can admit cosmic strings with fermion zero modes which result in the string carrying a current and the formation of stable remnants, vortons. We consider theories in which the zero modes do not survive a subsequent…
Flat directions are a generic feature of the scalar potential in supersymmetric gauge field theories. They can arise, for example, from D-terms associated with an extra abelian gauge symmetry. Even when supersymmetry is broken softly, there…
The electric Weak Gravity Conjecture demands that axions with large decay constant $f$ couple to light instantons. The resulting large instantonic corrections pose problems for natural inflation. We explore an alternative argument based on…
Cosmological evolution of axionic string network is analyzed in terms of field-theoretic simulations in a box of 512^3 grids, which are the largest ever, using a new and more efficient identification scheme of global strings. The scaling…
We present the first concrete evidence for the classical stability of vortons, circular cosmic string loops stabilized by the angular momentum of the charge and current trapped on the string. We begin by summarizing what is known about…
Cosmological moduli generically come to dominate the energy density of the early universe, and thereby trigger an early matter dominated era. Such non-standard cosmological histories are expected to have profound effects on the evolution…
It has been suggested that cosmological dark matter may include a population of vortons (meaning small centrifugally stabilised cosmic string loops) as an outcome of (non-standard) electroweak symmetry breaking. The implications for this…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…
In this talk, I review briefly a scenario for the evolution of a string-inspired cosmological model, in which condensates of primordial gravitational waves (GW), formed at the very early eras after the Big Bang, are considered responsible…
We study the interaction of several types of static straight cosmic strings, including local strings, global strings, and bosonic superconducting strings with and without magnetic currents. First, we evaluate the interaction energy of two…
The spacetime physics of bulk closed string tachyon condensation is studied at the level of a two-derivative effective action. We derive the unique perturbative tachyon potential consistent with a full class of linearized tachyonic…
We discuss the role of torsion in string theory on inducing pseudoscalar degrees of freedom (axions), which in turn couple to (gravitational) Chern-Simons (CS) anomalous terms. Such interactions can induce inflation, of running vacuum type,…
Cosmic strings in realistic particle physics models have fermion zero modes in the string core. Such zero modes change the underlying cosmology; for example, the string can carry a current. We consider the stability of fermion zero modes to…
Cosmic strings are predicted by many field-theory models, and may have been formed at a symmetry-breaking transition early in the history of the universe, such as that associated with grand unification. They could have important…