Related papers: Percolating Cosmic String Networks from Kination

String theory posesses numerous axion candidates. The recent realization that the compactification radius in string theory might be large means that these states can solve the strong CP problem. This still leaves the question of the…

Brane inflation predicts the production of cosmic superstrings with tension 10^{-12}<G\mu<10^{-7}. Superstring theory predicts also the existence of a dilaton with a mass that is at most of the order of the gravitino mass. We show that the…

Cosmic strings, topological defects predicted by high-energy theories, may contribute to the late-time expansion of the Universe, effectively mimicking dynamical dark energy. We investigate four phenomenological extensions of the…

We analyze the gravitational wave signatures of a network of metastable cosmic strings. We consider the case of cosmic string instability to breakage, with no primordial population of monopoles. This scenario is well motivated from GUT and…

Using the formalism developed in a previous paper we analyze the cosmological implications of our conclusions concerning the scaling behaviour of a network of cosmic strings, in particular the idea that once gravitational back-reaction…

The cosmic string theory for cosmological fluctuations is a good example of healthy scientific progress in cosmology. It is a well defined physically motivated model that has been tested by cosmological observations and has been ruled out…

We attempt to understand the fate of spacelike gravitational singularities in string theory via the quantum stress tensor for string matter in a fixed background. We first approximate the singularity with a homogeneous anisotropic…

We investigate the emission of vector radiation by superconducting cosmic string loops, deriving general relations to characterize the vector radiation emission efficiency, and study its impact on the evolution of loops. Building on these…

The cosmic string is a useful probe of the early Universe and may give us a clue to physics at high energy scales where any artificial particle accelerators cannot reach. Although one of the most promising tools is the cosmic microwave…

We describe the results of high-resolution numerical simulations of string-induced structure formation in open universes and those with a non-zero cosmological constant. For models with $\Gamma = \Omega h = 0.1 - 0.2$ and a cold dark matter…

Superstring theory, models with extra dimensions and other SUSY models generically predict that the coupling constants are in fact vacuum expectation values of fields like the dilaton, moduli etc. Assuming some of these fields are light…

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 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…

We study the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarisation spectra sourced by multi-tension cosmic superstring networks. First we obtain solutions for the characteristic length scales and velocities associated with the evolution…

We calculate the gravitational wave (GW) background spectra from kink propagation and kink-kink collisions on infinite cosmic superstrings. We take into account two characteristics of the cosmic superstring network: a small reconnection…

A connection between non-perturbative formulations of quantum gravity and perturbative string theory is exhibited, based on a formulation of the non-perturbative dynamics due to Markopoulou. In this formulation the dynamics of spin network…

I argue that string creation may have played a role in reheating the universe after inflation. For strings in four dimensions that arise from branes wrapping cycles in the extra dimensions, estimates from effective field theory show that…

Previously developed analytic models for the evolution of cosmic string and monopole networks are applied to networks of monopoles attached to two or more strings; the former case is usually known as cosmic necklaces. These networks are a…

The topic of cosmic strings provides a bridge between the physics of the very small and the very large. They are predicted by some unified theories of particle interactions. If they exist, they may help to explain some of the largest-scale…

Using percolation statistics we, for the first time, demonstrate the universal character of a network pattern in the real space, mass distributions resulting from nonlinear gravitational instability of initial Gaussian fluctuations.…