Related papers: Testing cosmological defect formation in the labor…
We consider quantum phase transitions with global symmetry breakings that result in the formation of topological defects. We evaluate the number densities of kinks, vortices, and monopoles that are produced in $d=1,2,3$ spatial dimensions…
Formation of domain walls during a rapid phase transition in a quasi one dimensional Cahn-Hiliard equation describing binary fluids in a thin tube is studied. Density of kinks scales like a sixth root of quench rate for equal concentrations…
Evolution of the order parameter in condensed matter analogues of cosmological phase transitions is discussed. It is shown that the density of the frozen-out topological defects is set by the competition between the quench rate -- the rate…
We consider grand unified theories with superconducting cosmic strings and which admit the mechanism for generating primordial magnetic fields recently discussed by Vachaspati. We show that these models are severely constrained by…
Classical defects (monopoles, vortices, etc.) are a characteristic consequence of many phase transitions of quantum fields. We show a model in which the onset of classical probability distributions, for the long-wavelength modes at early…
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…
We study random bubble lattices which can be produced by processes such as first order phase transitions, and derive characteristics that are important for understanding the percolation of distinct varieties of bubbles. The results are…
In this work, we review the results of Refs [1]-[5] dedicated to the description of the early Universe cosmology induced by quantum and thermal effects in superstring theories. The present evolution of the Universe is described very…
A general formulation for describing odd-harmonic cosmic strings is developed and used to determine the self-intersection properties of high-harmonic loops. This is important because loop formation mechanisms produce high-harmonic…
Topological defects can naturally be formed soon after bubble nucleation in the open inflation scenario. The defects are not completely diluted away by the subsequent period of inflation in the bubble interior and can produce observable…
The properties of cosmic strings have been investigated in detail for their implications in early-universe cosmology. Although many variations of the basic structure have been discovered, with implications for both the microscopic and…
Symmetries of the physical world have guided formulation of fundamental laws, including relativistic quantum field theory and understanding of possible states of matter. Topological defects (TDs) often control the universal behavior of…
Grand unified theories can admit cosmic strings with fermion zero modes. Such zero modes result in the string being current-carrying and the formation of stable remnants, vortons. However, the string zero modes do not automaticall survive…
The interaction of defects can lead to a phenomenon of erasure. During this process, a lower-dimensional object gets absorbed and dissolved by a higher-dimensional one. The phenomenon is very general and has a wide range of implications,…
Systems passing through quantum critical points at finite rates have a finite probability of undergoing transitions between different eigenstates of the instantaneous Hamiltonian. This mechanism was proposed by Kibble as the underlying…
In cosmological first-order phase transitions, the progress of true-vacuum bubbles is expected to be significantly retarded by the interaction between the bubble wall and the hot plasma. It has been claimed that this leads to a significant…
From the theory of topological defect formation proposed for the early universe, the so called Kibble mechanism, it follows that the density correlation functions of defects and anti-defects in a given system should be completely determined…
Cosmic strings are topological defects which can be formed in GUT-scale phase transitions in the early universe. They are also predicted to form in the context of string theory. The main mechanism for a network of Nambu-Goto cosmic strings…
Supersymmetry breaking in string theory is expected to occur when moduli fields acquire non-trivial expectation values. In the early universe these fields start out displaced from their final destinations. I present some recent ideas about…
The topic of this letter is structure formation with topological defects. We first present a partially new, fully local and gauge invariant system of perturbation equations to treat microwave background and dark matter fluctuations induced…