Related papers: Topological Defects in Gravitational Theories with…
Few years ago, Cho and Vilenkin have proposed that topological defects can arise in symmetry breaking models without having degenerate vacua. These types of defects are known as vacuumless defects. In the present work, the gravitational…
Domain walls, strings and monopoles are extended objects, or defects, of quantum origin with topologically non--trivial properties and macroscopic behavior. They are described in Quantum Field Theory in terms of inhomogeneous condensates.…
Global topological defects described by real scalar field in (3,1) dimensions coupled to gravity are analyzed. We consider a class of scalar potentials with explicit dependence with distance, evading Derrick's theorem and leading to defects…
Global topological defects produce nonzero stress-energy throughout spacetime, and as a result can have observable gravitational influence on surrounding matter. Gravitational effects of global strings are used to place bounds on their…
We study a class of almost scale-invariant modified gravity theories, using a particular form of $f(R, G) = \alpha R^2 + \beta G \log G$ where $R$ and $G$ are the Ricci and Gauss-Bonnet scalars, respectively and $\alpha$, $\beta$ are…
Cosmic strings, as topological spacetime defects, show striking resemblance to defects in solid continua: distortions, which can be classified into disclinations and dislocations, are line-like defects characterized by a delta…
It has been recently shown that topological defects can arise in symmetry breaking models where the scalar field potential $V(\phi)$ has no minima and is a monotonically decreasing function of $|\phi|$. Here we study the gravitational…
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'…
We study spatial variations of the fine-structure constant in the presence of static straight cosmic strings in the weak-field approximation in Einstein gravity. We work in the context of a generic Bekenstein-type model and consider a gauge…
Performing topological manipulations is a fruitful way to understand global aspects of Quantum Field Theory (QFT). Such modifications are typically controlled by the notion of Topological QFT (TQFT) coupling across different codimensions.…
We derive the effects of a non-zero cosmological constant $\Lambda$ on gravitational wave propagation in the linearized approximation of general relativity. In this approximation we consider the situation where the metric can be written as…
Topological defects are ubiquitous in condensed-matter physics but only hypothetical in the early universe. In spite of this, even an indirect evidence for one of these cosmic objects would revolutionize our vision of the cosmos. We give…
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…
The symmetry breaking of grand unified gauge groups in the early Universe often leaves behind relic topological defects such as cosmic strings, domain walls, or monopoles. For some symmetry breaking chains, hybrid defects can form where…
We propose a class of field theories featuring solitonic solutions in which topological defects can end when they intersect other defects of equal or higher dimensionality. Such configurations may be termed ``Dirichlet topological…
Monopole-antimonopole pairs connected by strings can be formed as topological defects in a sequence of cosmological phase transitions. Such hybrid defects typically decay early in the history of the universe but can still generate an…
It is well known that global topological defects induce a repulsive gravitational potential for test particles. 'What is the gravitational potential induced by black holes with a cosmological constant (Schwarzschild-de Sitter (S-dS) metric)…
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…
The properties of a string-inspired two-dimensional theory of gravity are studied. The post-Newtonian and weak-field approximations, `stellar' structure and cosmological solutions of this theory are developed. Some qualitative similarities…
We argue that the structure general relativity (GR) as a theory of affine defects is deeper than the standard interpretation as a metric theory of gravitation. Einstein-Cartan theory (EC), with its inhomogenous affine symmetry, should be…