Related papers: Axionic Strings, Domain Walls and Baryons
Axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are a prominent dark matter candidate, drawing motivation in part from the axiverse of string theory. Axion-like particles can also arise as composite degrees of freedom of a dark sector, for example,…
We investigate the cosmological consequences of particle physics theories that admit stable loops of superconducting cosmic string - {\it vortons}. General symmetry breaking schemes are considered, in which strings are formed at one energy…
We consider the response of the QCD ground state at finite baryon density to a strong magnetic field B. We point out the dominant role played by the coupling of neutral Goldstone bosons, such as pi^0, to the magnetic field via the axial…
The string breaking phenomenon in QCD can be studied using the gauge/string duality. In this approach, one can make estimates of some of the string breaking distances at non-zero temperature and baryon chemical potential. These point…
Inspired by recent studies of high-scale decay constant or flavorful QCD axions, we review and clarify their existence in effective string models with anomalous $U(1)$ gauge groups. We find that such models, when coupled to charged scalars…
It has been recently speculated that global symmetries are broken by gravity. We propose a scenario for the generation of the baryon asymmetry in the early Universe in which the domain walls predicted by theories with discrete symmetries…
Axions arise in many theoretical extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular the "string axiverse". If the axion masses, $m_a$, and (effective) decay constants, $f_a$, lie in specific ranges, then axions contribute…
We discuss how a three-brane with an associated non-factorizable (warped) geometry can emerge from a five dimensional theory of gravity coupled to a complex scalar field. The system possesses a discrete $Z_2$ symmetry, whose spontaneous…
In string compactifications, frequently there appears the anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry which belonged to E8$\times$E8 of the heterotic string. This anomalous U(1) gauge boson obtains mass at the compactification scale, just below…
We consider the cosmological consequences of a network of superconducting cosmic strings. For strong enough current the period of friction domination never ends. Instead a plasma scaling solution is reached. We demonstrate that this gives…
The main leitmotiv of the present talk is analysis of different topological objects such as strings and domain walls in QCD. As it is well known, the standard model in general (and QCD in particular) does not support any kind of such…
The A4 flavor symmetry has provided tremendous insight into the flavor structure of the lepton sector of the Standard Model, predicting a very good approximation to neutrino mixing angles, Tri-Bimaximal Mixing. A4 is spontaneously broken by…
In this work we derive non-singular BPS string solutions from an action that captures the essential features of a D-brane-anti-D-brane system compactified to four dimensions. The model we consider is a supersymmetric abelian Higgs model…
Localized charged fields are a general feature of many realistic string compactifications. In four dimensions they can lead to a multitude of perturbatively-exact global symmetries. If spontaneously broken, they generate a new axiverse…
Axion strings are horizon-size topological defects that may be produced in the early Universe. Ultra-light axion-like particles may form strings that persist to temperatures below that of big bang nucleosynthesis. Such strings have been…
An analysis is given of interacting dark energy and dark matter where the dark energy is assumed to be an ultralight axionic field with a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Boson potential which is in general a superposition of $N$ number of cosine…
If a global chiral symmetry is explicitly broken by anomalies in nonabelian gauge theories, a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson (axion) associated with a spontaneous breakdown of such a global symmetry acquires a mass through nonperturbative…
Discrete flavor symmetry is often introduced for explaining quark/lepton masses and mixings. However, its spontaneous breaking leads to the appearance of domain walls, which is problematic for cosmology. We consider a possibility that the…
This work investigates cosmic topological defects in gauge theories, focusing on models with an $SU(N)$ gauge group coupled with a single flavor, explored through a holographic framework. At low energies, the effective theory is described…
String theory axions appear to be promising candidates for explaining cosmological constant via quintessence. In this paper, we study conditions on the string compactifications under which axion quintessence can happen. For sufficiently…