Related papers: Testing cosmological defect formation in the labor…
Flat directions are a generic feature of the scalar potential in supersymmetric gauge field theories. They can arise, for example, from D-terms associated with an extra abelian gauge symmetry. Even when supersymmetry is broken softly, there…
These lecture notes discuss several topics in the physics of cosmic structure formation starting from the evolution of small-amplitude fluctuations in the radiation-dominated era. The topics include relativistic cosmological perturbation…
We investigate the implications of the nontrivial vacuum structure of little Higgs models. In particular, focusing on the littlest Higgs model, we demonstrate the existence of three types of topological defects. One is a global cosmic…
Topological defects are singularities within a field that cannot be removed by continuous transformations. The definition of these irregularities requires an ordered reference configuration, calling into question whether they exist in…
A charged superconductiong cosmic string produces an extremely large electric field in its vicinity. This leads to vacuum instability and to the formation of a charged vacuum condensate which screens the electric charge of the string. We…
In superconductors, and in other systems with a local U(1) gauge invariance, there are two mechanisms that form topological defects in phase transitions. In addition to the standard Kibble mechanism, thermal fluctuations of the magnetic…
Since the discovery of topological insulators, many topological phases have been predicted and realized in a range of different systems, providing both fascinating physics and exciting opportunities for devices. And although new materials…
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…
When the topology of the universe is non trivial, it has been shown that there are constraints on the network of domain walls, cosmic strings and monopoles. I generalize these results to textures and study the cosmological implications of…
Symmetry breaking during phase transitions can lead to the formation of topological defects (such as vortex lines in superfluids). However, the usually studied BEC's have the shape of a cigar, a geometry that impedes vortex formation,…
In this paper we present the results of numerical simulations intended to study the behavior of non-Abelian cosmic strings networks. In particular we are interested in discussing the variations in the asymptotic behavior of the system as we…
The distribution of thermally excited vortex loops near a superfluid phase transition is calculated from a renormalized theory. The number density of loops with a given perimeter is found to change from exponential decay with increasing…
We describe the detailed study and results of high-resolution numerical simulations of string-induced structure formation in open universes and those with a non-zero cosmological constant. The effect from small loops generated from the…
We discuss the potential cosmological role of gravitational wave astronomy as a probe of the very early universe. The next generation of detectors - now in production - may be able to observe a stochastic background of gravitational waves…
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…
Formation of topological defects during symmetry breaking phase transitions via the {\it Kibble mechanism} is extensively used in systems ranging from condensed matter physics to the early stages of the universe. Kibble mechanism uses…
Supersolids are states of matter that spontaneously break two continuous symmetries: translational invariance due to the appearance of a crystal structure and phase invariance due to phase locking of single-particle wave functions,…
We propose a new scenario for generating a relic density of non-relativistic dark matter in the context of heterotic string theory. Contrary to standard thermal freeze-out scenarios, dark-matter particles are abundantly produced while still…
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…
We investigate the peculiar velocity field due to long cosmic strings in several cosmological models and analyse the influence of a nonscaling behaviour of the string network, which is expected in open cosmological models or models with a…