Related papers: Cosmic strings in the complex symmetron model
Light moduli fields in string compactifications can have interesting implications for particle physics and cosmology. Fifth force bounds impose stringent constraints on the interactions of such moduli with the visible sector. To be…
We review the existence, formation and properties of cosmic strings in string theory, the wide variety of observational techniques that are being employed to detect them, and the constraints that current observations impose on string theory…
We study the interaction between two parallel cosmic strings induced by gauge fields and by scalar fields with non-minimal couplings to curvature. For small deficit angles the gauge field behaves like a collection of non-minimal scalars…
We argue that cosmic strings with high winding numbers generally form in first-order gauge symmetry breaking phase transitions, and we demonstrate this using computer simulations. These strings are heavier than single-winding strings and…
We discuss the appearance of topological structures from the spontaneous breaking of $E_6$ to the Standard Model via its maximal subgroup $SO(10) \times U(1)_\psi$. They include dumbbells, metastable strings, as well as domain walls bounded…
We investigate the behaviour of a model with two oppositely charged scalar fields. In the Bogomol'nyi limit this may be seen as the scalar sector of N=1 supersymmetric QED, and it has been shown that cosmic strings form. We examine…
We argue that, for generic string compactifications, dark energy is likely to signal the beginning of the end of our universe, perhaps even through decompactification, with possible implications for the cosmological coincidence problem.…
Chiral cosmic strings naturally arise in many particle physics models, in particular in supersymmetric theories with a D-term. These strings have a single fermion zero mode in the core. We derive the general equation of motion for such…
We consider a local cosmic string described by the Abelian-Higgs model in the framework of scalar-tensor gravities. We find the metric of the cosmic string in the weak-field approximation. The propagation of particles and light is analysed…
Recently, a supersymmetric model of dark energy coupled to cold dark matter, the supersymmetron, has been proposed. In the absence of cold dark matter, the supersymmetron field converges to a supersymmetric minimum with a vanishing…
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 present the first complete Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis of cosmological models with evolving cosmic (super)string networks, using the unconnected segment model in the unequal-time correlator formalism. For ordinary cosmic string…
We show that in a wide class of string derived models of particle physics, heavy string modes with masses around the GUT scale can serve as a viable dark matter candidate. These heavy string modes wind around specific cycles in the…
We discuss dark energy, dark matter and the hierarchy problem in the context of a general non-commutative formulation of string theory. In this framework dark energy is generated by the dynamical geometry of the dual spacetime while dark…
Macroscopic fundamental and Dirichlet strings have several potential instabilities: breakage, tachyon decays, and confinement by axion domain walls. We investigate the conditions under which metastable strings can exist, and we find that…
Some aspects of the theory of cosmological perturbations from cosmic strings and other topological defects are outlined, with particular reference to a simple example: a spatially flat CDM-dominated universe. The conserved energy-momentum…
The formation and evolution of cosmic string wakes in the framework of a scalar-tensor gravity are investigated in this work. We consider a simple model in which cold dark matter flows past an ordinary string and we treat this motion in the…
We study the stability of supersymmetry breaking vacuum in the presence of cosmic strings arising in the messenger sector. For certain ranges of the couplings, the desired supersymmetry breaking vacua become unstable against decay into…
A general formulation for describing odd-harmonic cosmic strings is developed and used to determine the self-intersection properties of high-harmonic loops. This is important because loop formation mechanisms produce high-harmonic…
Cosmic strings are predicted by many field-theory models, and may have been formed at a symmetry-breaking transition early in the history of the universe, such as that associated with grand unification. They could have important…