Related papers: Reionization from cosmic string loops
We study the production of cosmological axions in the standard scenario in which a global string network forms at the Peccei-Quinn phase transition. We make detailed calculations of the axions produced by string loops (a previously…
The observation of quasars at high redshifts presents a mystery in the theory of black hole formation. In order to source such objects, one often relies on the presence of heavy seeds ($M \approx 10^{4-6} \, M_{\odot}$) in place at early…
Reionization is thought to have occurred in the redshift range of $6 < z < 9$, which is now being probed by both deep galaxy surveys and CMB observations. Using halo abundance matching over the redshift range $5<z<8$ and assuming smooth,…
Electromagnetic radiation from the cusp region of superconducting cosmic strings leads to a radio excess in the photon spectrum in the early universe and can produce a deep absorption feature in the global 21cm signal before the epoch of…
We study the spectrum of loops as a part of a complete network of cosmic strings in flat spacetime. After a long transient regime, characterized by production of small loops at the scale of the initial conditions, it appears that a true…
The high ionization level and universal metallicity (1% solar) of the intergalactic gas at redshifts z<5 implies that nonlinear structure had started to form in the universe at earlier times than we currently probe. In Cold Dark Matter…
Understanding axion cosmology has important experimental consequences since it constrains the range of allowed values for the axion mass. In the standard thermal scenario, which assumes Peccei-Quinn symmetry restoration after inflation, an…
Understanding of the signatures of cosmic string networks is limited by a large uncertainty in the sizes at which cosmic string loops form. We review cosmic string network evolution, and the gravitational signatures, with emphasis on this…
Motivated by the WMAP results indicating an early epoch of reionization, we consider alternative cosmic star formation models which are capable of reionizing the early intergalactic medium. We develop models which include an early burst of…
Cosmic strings appear in many well-motivated extensions to the standard model of particle physics. If they exist, an abundant population of compact objects known as cosmic string loops permeate the Universe at all times, providing a…
We develop methods by which cosmic superstring interactions can be studied in detail. These include the reconnection probability and emission of radiation such as gravitons or small string loops. Loop corrections to these are discussed, as…
Cosmic strings are a type of cosmic defect formed by a symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early universe. Individual strings would have gathered to build a network, and their dynamical motion would induce scalar--, vector-- and…
Cosmic superstrings are produced towards the end of the brane inflation. If the string tension is low enough, loops tend to be relatively long-lived. The resultant string network is expected to contain many loops which are smaller than…
Large-scale polarization of the cosmic microwave background measured by the WMAP satellite requires a mean optical depth to Thomson scattering, tau_e ~ 0.17. The reionization of the universe must therefore have begun at relatively high…
Cosmic strings are generically predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. We propose a new avenue for detecting cosmic strings through their effect on the filamentary structure in the cosmic web. Using…
Cosmic strings are topological defects possibly formed in the early Universe, which may be observable due to their gravitational effects on the cosmic microwave background radiation or gravitational wave experiments. To this effect it is…
We study the signal of cosmic string wakes present before the time of reionization in the cross-correlation signal of 21-cm redshift and B-mode CMB polarization maps. The specific non-Gaussian signal of strings in the position space…
We extend our earlier model of the small scale structure of cosmic string networks through an improved treatment of the separation of long and short scales. We find that the production of small loops (at the gravitational radiation scale)…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…
The search for cosmic strings has been of renewed interest with the advent of precision cosmology. In this note we give a quantitative description of the nonlinear matter density fluctuations that can form from a scaling network of cosmic…