Related papers: First Structure Formation: II. Cosmic String + Hot…
We investigate the string configuration that, in the framework of the theoretical scenario introduced in [1], corresponds to the most entropic configuration in the phase space of all the configurations of the universe. This describes a…
We use our model of the small scale structure on cosmic strings to develop further the result of Siemens, Olum, and Vilenkin that the gravitational radiation length scale on cosmic strings is smaller than the previously assumed $\Gamma G\mu…
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge…
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…
Appearance of cosmic strings in the early Universe is a common manifestation of new physics typically linked to some high energy scale. In this paper, we discuss a different situation, where a model underlying cosmic string formation is…
We present results from a detailed numerical study of the small-scale and loop production properties of cosmic string networks, based on the largest and highest resolution string simulations to date. We investigate the non-trivial fractal…
Massive neutrinos suppress the growth of cosmic structure on small, non-linear, scales. It is thus often proposed that using statistics beyond the power spectrum can tighten constraints on the neutrino mass by extracting additional…
We investigate cosmic strings arising from a hierarchical gauge symmetry breaking sequence, $\mathrm{SU}(2) \times \mathrm{U}(1) \rightarrow \mathrm{U}(1) \times \mathrm{U}(1) \rightarrow \mathrm{U}(1)' \rightarrow \text{Nothing}$. This…
We perform numerical evolutions of cosmological scenarios using a standard general relativistic code in spherical symmetry. We concentrate on two different situations: initial matter distributions that are homogeneous and isotropic, and…
Recent measurements of a peak in the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background appear to suggest that geometry of the universe is close to being flat. But if other accepted indicators of cosmological parameters are also…
The main goal of this work is to pursue an investigation of cosmic string configurations focusing on possible consequences of the Lorentz-symmetry breaking by a background vector. We analyze the possibility of cosmic strings as a viable…
A quintessence scalar field or cosmon interacting with neutrinos can have important effects on cosmological structure formation. Within growing neutrino models the coupling becomes effective only in recent times, when neutrinos become…
In these lectures I discuss the possibility that superstrings of cosmic length might exist and be observable. I first review the original idea of cosmic strings arising as gauge theory solitons, and discuss in particular their network…
Cosmic strings provide a radically different paradigm for the formation of structure to the prevailing inflationary one. They afford some extra technical complications: for example, the calculation of the power spectrum of matter and…
Decaying topological defects, in particular cosmic strings, can produce a significant flux of high energy neutrinos, photons and cosmic rays. According to the prevailing understanding of cosmic string dynamics in an expanding Universe, the…
It has been suggested that cosmological dark matter may include a population of vortons (meaning small centrifugally stabilised cosmic string loops) as an outcome of (non-standard) electroweak symmetry breaking. The implications for this…
We explore the viability of baryogenesis from light scalar decays after the electroweak phase transition. A minimal model of this kind is constructed with new CP violating interactions involving a heavy fourth family. The departure from…
The equations describing a two-component cosmological fluid with linearized density perturbations are investigated in the small wavelength or large $k$ limit. The equations are formulated to include a baryonic component, as well as either a…
I present an overview of some of the recent advances in our understanding of the distribution and evolution of the ordinary, baryonic matter in the universe. Two observations that strongly suggest that most of the baryons seen at high…
String Gas Cosmology is a model of the evolution of the very early universe based on fundamental principles and key new degrees of freedom of string theory which are different from those of point particle field theories. In String Gas…