Related papers: Dark dimension with (little) strings attached
We consider one of the simplest time-dependent backgrounds in M-theory, describing the shrinking away of the M-theory dimension with the other spatial dimensions static. As the M-theory dimension becomes small, the situation becomes…
The ground state of string theory may lie at a point of ``maximally enhanced symmetry", at which all of the moduli transform under continuous or discrete symmetries. This hypothesis, along with the hypotheses that the theory at high…
The non-observation of dark matter (DM) by direct detection experiments suggests that any new interaction of DM with the Standard Model (SM) should be very weak. One of the simplest scenarios to achieve this is a dark sector that is charged…
The so called `cosmic coincidence' problem seems to suggest a coupling between dark energy and dark matter. A possibility could be given by dark matter particles with masses depending exponentially on the scalar field associated to dark…
The string-dominated universe locally resembles an open universe, and fits dynamical measures of power spectra, cluster abundances, redshift distortions, lensing constraints, luminosity and angular diameter distance relations and microwave…
Extra-dimensional theories contain additional degrees of freedom related to the geometry of the extra space which can be interpreted as new particles. Such theories allow to reformulate most of the fundamental problems of physics from a…
The Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action from string theory provides several new classes of dark energy behavior beyond quintessence due to its relativistic kinematics. We constrain parameters of natural potentials and brane tensions with…
To explain the currently observed accelerated expansion of the universe, a large number of different theoretical models are presently being discussed. In one way or another, all of these contain `new physics', though at different levels.…
We consider a general class of vector-tensor theories of gravity and show that solutions with accelerated expansion and a future type III singularity are a common feature in these models. We also show that there are only six vector-tensor…
We investigate scaling and correlations of the energy and momentum in an evolving network of cosmic strings in Minkowski space. These quantities are of great interest, as they must be understood before accurate predictions for the power…
Following the idea of the induced matter theory, for a non-vacuum five-dimensional version of general relativity, we propose a model in which the induced terms emerging from the extra dimension in our four-dimensional space-time, supposed…
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…
Current data in the form of baryon acoustic oscillation, supernova, and cosmic microwave background distances prefer a cosmology that accelerates more strongly than $\Lambda$CDM at $z\approx0.5-1.5$, and more weakly at $z\lesssim0.5$. We…
We revisit the theory of background fields constructed on the BRST-algebra of a spinning particle with $\mathcal{N}=4$ worldline supersymmetry, whose spectrum contains the graviton but no other fields. On a generic background, the closure…
The string theory swampland proposes that there is no UV-completion for an effective field theory with an exact (metastable) de Sitter vacua, thereby ruling out standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology if the conjecture is taken seriously. The…
The energy scale of Dark Energy, $\sim 2 \times 10^{-3}$ eV, is a long way off compared to all known fundamental scales - except for the neutrino masses. If Dark Energy is dynamical and couples to neutrinos, this is no longer a coincidence.…
The origin of the accelerated expansion of the universe is still unclear and new physics is needed on cosmological scales. We propose and test a novel interpretation of dark energy as originated by an elastic strain due to a cosmic defect…
Recent developments involving strongly coupled superstrings are discussed from a phenomenological point of view. In particular, strongly coupled $E_8\times E'_8$ is described as an appropriate long-wavelength limit of M-theory, and some…
We analyse theories that do not have a de Sitter vacuum and cannot lead to slow-roll quintessence, but which nevertheless support a transient era of accelerated cosmological expansion due to interactions between a scalar $\phi$ and either a…
Weak lensing convergence statistics is a powerful tool to probe dark energy. Dark energy plays an important role to the structure formation and the effects can be detected through the convergence power spectrum, bi-spectrum etc. One of the…