Related papers: Percolating Cosmic String Networks from Kination
Whilst standard field theoretic Cosmic Strings cannot end, Cosmic Superstrings can form three string junctions, at which each string ends. This opens up a new class of possible boundary conditions for such strings and we show that, at least…
The combination of non-minimal couplings to gravity with the post-inflationary kinetic-dominated era typically appearing in quintessential inflation scenarios may lead to the spontaneous symmetry breaking of internal symmetries and its…
In these lectures I discuss the possibility that superstrings of cosmic length might exist and be observable. I first review the original idea of cosmic strings arising as gauge theory solitons, and discuss in particular their network…
Exact superstring solutions are constructed in 4-D space-time, with positive curvature and non-trivial dilaton and antisymmetric tensor fields. The full spectrum of string excitations is derived as a function of moduli fields $T^{i}$ and…
We consider the evolution of circular string loops in power law expanding universes represented by a spatially flat Friedman-Robertson-Walker metric with scale factor $a(t)\propto t^p$ where $t$ is the cosmic time and $p\geq 0$. Our main…
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…
Recent work suggests that fundamental and Dirichlet strings, and their (p,q) bound states, may be observed as cosmic strings. The evolution of cosmic string networks, and therefore their observational signals, depends on what happens when…
We investigate the evolution of a superconducting string network with arbitrary, constant string current in the friction dominated regime. In the absence of an external magnetic field the network always reaches a scaling solution. However,…
Recent discoveries of super-massive black holes at high redshifts indicate a possible tension with the standard Lambda CDM paradigm of early universe cosmology which has difficulties in explaining the origin of the required nonlinear…
We present a detailed analysis of {\it excited} cosmic string solutions which possess superconducting currents. These currents can be excited inside the string core, and - if the condensate is large enough - can lead to the excitations of…
It is shown that different ways of interacting strings formed in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions cause a different strength of the chaoticity parameter lambda of Bose-Einstein correlations. In particular, in the case of percolation…
We calculate the deflection of a light ray caused by the gravitational field of a cosmic string loop in the weak field limit and reduce the problem to a single quadrature over a time slice of the loop's world sheet. We then apply this…
We study massive particle radiation from cosmic string kinks, and its observability in extremely high energy neutrinos. In particular, we consider the emission of moduli --- weakly coupled scalar particles predicted in supersymmetric…
Cosmic strings have gained a great interest, since they are formed in a large class of brane inflationary models. The most interesting story is that cosmic strings in brane models are distinguished in future cosmological observations. If…
Cosmic strings are predicted in many models beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In models which admit strings, a network of strings will inevitably be formed in a phase transition in the early universe and will persist to the…
Cosmic super-strings interact generically with a tower of light and/or strongly coupled Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes associated with the geometry of the internal space. We study the production of KK particles by cosmic super-string loops, and…
We calculate the contribution of cosmic strings arising from a phase transition in the early universe, or cosmic superstrings arising from brane inflation, to the cosmic 21 cm power spectrum at redshifts z > 30. Future experiments can…
We use our model of the small scale structure on cosmic strings to develop further the result of Siemens, Olum, and Vilenkin that the gravitational radiation length scale on cosmic strings is smaller than the previously assumed $\Gamma G\mu…
In General Relativity, cosmic strings are well known to produce a static, locally flat spacetime with a wedge removed. If the tension exceeds a critical value, the deficit angle becomes larger than $ 2\pi $, leading to a compact exterior…
We present an extension of the velocity-dependent one-scale model for cosmic string evolution, which is suitable for describing the evolution of local and global monopole networks. We discuss the key dynamical features that need to be…