Related papers: Cosmic strings from pure Yang-Mills theory
Magnetic strings are defined as infinitely thin surfaces which are closed in the vacuum and can be open on an external monopole trajectory (that is, defined by 't Hooft loop). We review briefly lattice data on the magnetic strings which…
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…
Cosmic strings with the property of D-parity symmetry are studied in this paper. They are of a Z-2 type of strings that could appear in the spontaneous breaking of SU(7) and would present extraordinary properties in a background of ordinary…
Confinement in SU($N$) gauge theory is due to the linear potential between colored objects. At short distances, the linear contribution could be considered as the quadratic correction to the leading Coulomb term. Recent lattice data show…
In cosmological models where local cosmic strings are formed at the end of a period of inflation, the perturbations are seeded both by the defects and by the quantum fluctuations. In a subset of these models, for example those based on…
We study the 2+1 dimensional SU(N) Yang-Mills theory on a finite two-torus with twisted boundary conditions. Our goal is to study the interplay between the rank of the group N, the length of the torus L and the Z_N magnetic flux. After…
We study large-N double-scaling limits of U(N) gauge theories in four dimensions. We focus on theories in a partially confining phase where an abelian subgroup $\hat{G}$ of the gauge group remains unconfined. Double-scaling is defined near…
Gravitational wave signatures from cosmic strings are analyzed numerically. Cosmic string networks form during phase transistions in the early universe and these networks of long cosmic strings break into loops that radiate energy in the…
In this talk we review some generalizations of 't Hooft and Mandelstam ideas on confinement for theories with non-Abelian unbroken gauge groups. In order to do that, we consider N=2 super Yang-Mills with one flavor and a mass breaking term.…
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…
We explore the formation of cosmic string Y-junctions when strings of two different types collide, which has recently become important since string theory can yield cosmic strings of distinct types. Using a model containing two types of…
When eight-dimensional instantons, satisfying F \wedge F = \pm \star_8 (F\wedge F), shrink to zero size, we find stringy objects in higher order ten-dimensional Yang-Mills (viewed as a low-energy limit of open string theory). The associated…
We explain how the string spectrum in flat space and pp-waves arises from the large $N$ limit, at fixed $g^2_{YM}$, of U(N) ${\cal N} =4$ super Yang Mills. We reproduce the spectrum by summing a subset of the planar Feynman diagrams. We…
We describe the magnetic phase of SU(N) $\mathcal{N}=2$ Super Yang-Mills theories in the self-dual Omega background in terms of a new class of multi-cut matrix models. These arise from a non-perturbative completion of topological strings in…
Composite topological structures such as superheavy "quasi-stable strings" (QSS) and "walls bounded by strings" (WBS) arise in realistic extensions of the Standard Model of high energy physics. We show that the gravitational radiation…
For correlators in $\mathcal{N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills preserving half the supersymmetry, we manifestly recast the gauge theory Feynman diagram expansion as a sum over dual closed strings. Each individual Feynman diagram maps on to a Riemann…
We consider the 1+1 dimensional supersymmetric matrix field theory obtained from a dimensional reduction of ten dimensional ${\cal N} = 1$ super Yang-Mills, which is a matrix model candidate for non-perturbative Type IIA string theory. The…
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…
We show that the N=2 open string describes a theory of self-dual Yang Mills (SDYM) in (2,2) dimensions. The coupling to the closed sector is described by SDYM in a Kahler background, with the Yang-Mills fields providing a source term to the…
Overall, brane inflation is compatible with the recent analysis of the WMAP data. Here we explore the constraints of WMAP and 2dFGRS data on the various brane inflationary scenarios. Brane inflation naturally ends with the production of…