Related papers: Topological defects: A problem for cyclic universe…
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.…
We critically assess the twin prospects of describing the observed universe in string theory, and using cosmological experiments to probe string theory. For the purposes of this short review, we focus on the limitations imposed by our…
We study cosmic strings in the complex symmetron model, a scalar-tensor theory with a spontaneously broken local $U(1)$ symmetry in low matter density regions. Using numerical simulations, we show that these strings preferentially attach to…
Cosmic strings can arise in hidden sector models with a spontaneously broken Abelian symmetry group. We have studied the couplings of the Standard Model fields to these so-called dark strings in the companion paper. Here we survey the…
D-branes, topological defects in string theory on which string endpoints can live, may give new insight into the understanding of the cosmological evolution of the Universe at early epochs. We analyze the dynamics of D-branes in curved…
The possibility to detect cosmic strings -- topological defects of early Universe, by means of wave effects in gravitational lensing is discussed. To find the optimal observation conditions, we define the hyperbolic-shaped Fresnel…
Recent measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies by BOOMERANG and MAXIMA collaborations have tightened the observational constraints on theories of structure formation. They disagree with the predictions of…
We model the behaviour of a network of interacting (p,q) strings from IIB string theory by considering a field theory containing multiple species of string, allowing us to study the effect of non-intercommuting events due to two different…
Topological defects such as cosmic strings may have been formed at early-universe phase transitions. Direct tests of this idea are impossible, but the mechanism can be elucidated by studying analogous processes in low-temperature…
In this paper the collision of two cosmic string loops is studied. After collision junctions are formed and the loops are entangled. We show that after their formation the junctions start to unzip and the loops disentangle. This analysis…
Semilocal strings -- a particular limit of electroweak strings -- are an interesting example of a stable non-topological defect whose properties resemble those of their topological cousins, the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices. There is,…
At early stages the dynamics of cosmic string networks is expected to be influenced by an excessive production of small loops at the scales of initial conditions l_{min}. To understand the late time behavior we propose a very simple…
Cosmic strings, a hot subject in the 1980's and early 1990's, lost its appeal when it was found that it leads to inconsistencies in the power spectrum of the measured cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies. However,…
We examine the effects of cosmic strings on structure formation and on the ionization history of the universe. While Gaussian perturbations from inflation are known to provide the dominant contribution to the large scale structure of the…
Cosmic superstrings of string theory differ from conventional cosmic strings of field theory. We review how the physical and cosmological properties of the macroscopic string loops influence experimental searches for these relics from the…
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…
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…
When gauged cosmic strings form in a symmetry-breaking phase transition, the gauge field configuration at the time becomes imprinted in the spatial string distribution by the flux trapping mechanism. It is shown that quantum and thermal…
We evolve the network of global strings in the matter-dominated universe by means of numerical simulations. The existence of the scaling solution is confirmed as in the radiation-dominated universe but the scaling parameter $\xi$ takes a…
We discuss the temporal variation of the equation of state of a classical string network, evolving in a background in which the Hubble radius 1/H shrinks to a minimum and then re-expands to infinity. We also present a method to look for…