Related papers: Cosmological evolution of Witten superconducting s…
Recent developments in string theory suggest that cosmic strings could be formed at the end of brane inflation. Supergravity provides a realistic model to study the properties of strings arising in brane inflation. Whilst the properties of…
A model-independent method to study the possible evolution of dark energy is presented. Optimal estimates of the dark energy equation of state w are obtained from current supernovae data from Riess et al. (2004) following a principal…
We investigate some classical aspects of fundamental strings via numerical experiments. In particular, we study the thermodynamics of a string network within a toroidal universe, as a function of string energy density and space…
We investigate the properties of global cosmic string networks as a function of the ratio of string tension to Goldstone-field coupling, and as a function of the Hubble damping strength. Our results show unambiguously that the string…
The lensing properties of superconducting cosmic strings endowed with a time dependent pulse of lightlike current are investigated. The metric outside the core of the string belongs to the $pp$--wave class, with a deficit angle. We study…
Junctions on cosmic string loops give rise to the proliferation of sharp kinks. We study the effect of this proliferation on the gravitational wave (GW) signals emitted from string networks with junctions, assuming a scaling solution. We…
We describe a new mechanism, whose ingredients are realised in string compactifications, for the formation of cosmic (super)string networks. Oscillating string loops grow when their tension $\mu$ decreases with time. If $2H + \dot{\mu}/\mu…
Cosmic strings are generic cosmological predictions of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, such as a $U(1)^\prime$ symmetry breaking phase transition in the early universe or remnants of superstring theory. Unlike…
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge…
We present a general model for the growth of weighted networks in which the structural growth is coupled with the edges' weight dynamical evolution. The model is based on a simple weight-driven dynamics and a weights' reinforcement…
Recent cosmological data favour phantom-crossing dark energy, motivating models with non-minimal couplings that induce a fifth force on structure formation. Reconciling these models with local tests often requires strong screening, leading…
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…
When moduli roll in the early universe, all physical scales - including string tensions - simultaneously evolve. The dynamics of cosmic string loops with time-varying tension can produce cosmic string loop trackers in which most of the…
By modeling the stripe phase in cuprates as spin gapped stripes coupled to the RVB liquid of preformed electron pairs, I derive the low energy effective theory of the RVB phase variable. It is found that the effect of stripe dynamics…
We present projected constraints on the cosmic string tension, $G\mu/c^2$, that could be achieved by future gravitational wave detection experiments and express our results as semi-analytic relations of the form $G\mu(\Omega_{\rm…
The properties of string networks at scales well below the horizon are poorly understood, but they enter critically into many observables. We argue that in some regimes, stretching will be the only relevant process governing the evolution.…
Motivated by recent developments in superstring theory in the cosmological context, we examine a field theory which contains string networks with 3-way junctions. We perform numerical simulations of this model, identify the length scales of…
We describe the detailed study and results of high-resolution numerical simulations of string-induced structure formation in open universes and those with a non-zero cosmological constant. The effect from small loops generated from the…
We study the evolution of domain wall networks appearing after phase transitions in the early Universe. They exhibit interesting dynamical scaling behaviour which is not yet well understood, and are also simple models for the more…
The stability of fermionic charge carriers on cosmic strings is considered. We show that neutral fermion currents in cosmic strings are always chiral or time-like, in contrast to the case of bosonic currents. The spectrum of bound states on…