Related papers: Semilocal Cosmic String Networks

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…

We show that topological superfluid strings/vortices with flux tubes exist in the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase of color superconductors. Using a Ginzburg-Landau free energy we find the configurations of these strings. These strings can…

In this work, we consider a network of cosmic strings to explain possible deviation from \Lambda CDM behaviour. We use different observational data to constrain the model and show that a small but non zero contribution from the string…

In this paper, we study the stability problem of a star-shaped network of elastic strings with a local Kelvin-Voigt damping. Under the assumption that the damping coefficients have some singularities near the transmission point, we prove…

It has recently been realised that strings with time-dependent tensions exhibit interesting dynamics; in particular, when the tension decreases loops of string can grow and possibly percolate. We extend previous analytic studies of strings…

Cosmic string networks are the best motivated relics of cosmological phase transitions, being unavoidable in many physically plausible extensions of the Standard Model. Most studies, including those providing constraints from and forecasts…

In this thesis we investigate the microphysics of cosmic strings in non-minimal quantum field theories. In particular we consider theories in which fermion fields couple to the strings, and those with larger symmetry groups, such as grand…

We compute the stochastic gravitational wave background generated by cosmic superstrings using a semi-analytical velocity-dependent model to describe their dynamics. We show that heavier string types may leave distinctive signatures on the…

Chiral cosmic strings are produced naturally at the end of inflation in supersymmetric models where the symmetry is broken via a D-term. Consequently in such theories, where both inflation and cosmic strings contribute to the density and…

Complicated cosmic string loops will fragment until they reach simple, non-intersecting ("stable") configurations. Through extensive numerical study we characterize these attractor loop shapes including their length, velocity, kink, and…

We make use of the formalism described in a previous paper [Martins {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. D90 (2014) 043518] to address general features of wiggly cosmic string evolution. In particular, we highlight the important role played by poorly…

We present explicit examples of semi-realistic heterotic models with spontaneously broken supersymmetry, which dynamically lead to breaking scales much smaller than $M_{\rm Planck}$ and exponentially small positive values for the…

Cosmic strings are generic cosmological predictions of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, such as a $U(1)^\prime$ symmetry breaking phase transition in the early universe or remnants of superstring theory. Unlike…

We obtain the equations of motion for cosmic strings in extensions of the 3+1 FRW model with extra dimensions. From these we derive a generalisation of the Velocity-dependent One-Scale (VOS) model for cosmic string network evolution which…

Superstring theories are very promising theoretically, but the enormous landscape of string vacua and the (likely) very large underlying string scale imply that they may never be tested directly. Nevertheless, concrete constructions…

We discuss how cosmic strings can be created in heterotic M-theory compactifications with stable moduli. We conclude that the only appropriate candidates seem to be fundamental open membranes with a small length. In four dimensions they…

This is a pedagogical introduction to the basics of the cosmic string theory and also a review of the recent progress made with respect to the macrophysical predictions of the theory. Topics covered include, string formation and evolution,…

There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…

We study the evolution of non-interacting and entangled cosmic string networks in the context of the velocity-dependent one-scale model. Such networks may be formed in several contexts, including brane inflation. We show that the frozen…

We investigated domain wall networks as a possible candidate to explain the present accelerated expansion of the universe. We discuss various requirements that any stable lattice of frustrated walls must obey and propose a class of `ideal'…