Related papers: Volterra Distortions, Spinning Strings, and Cosmic…
A solution of the vortex type is given in a six-dimensional $SU(2)\times U(1)$ pure gauge theory coupled to Einstein gravity in a compactified background geometry. We construct the solution of an effective abelian Higgs model in terms of…
We consider the evolution of perturbed cosmological spacetime with multiple scalar fields in Einstein gravity. A complete set of scalar-type perturbation equations is presented in a gauge-ready form, and we derived the closed set of…
We consider the evolution of scalar perturbations in a class of non-singular bouncing universes obtained with higher-order corrections to the low-energy bosonic string action. We show that previous studies have relied on a singular…
We consider, in five dimensions, the effective action from heterotic string which includes quantum gravity corrections up to (a')^2. The expansion, in the string frame, is in terms of |a'R|, where R is the scalar curvature and uses the…
In this lecture I summarize recent developments on strings propagating in curved spacetime. Exact conformal field theories that describe gravitational backgrounds such as black holes and more intricate gravitational singularities have been…
Celestial holography has led to the discovery of new symmetry algebras arising from the study of collinear limits of perturbative gravity amplitudes in flat space. We explain from the twistor perspective how a non-vanishing cosmological…
We consider the propagation of classical and quantum strings on cosmological space-times which interpolate from a collapsing phase to an expanding phase. We begin by considering the classical propagation of strings on space-times with…
While the classification of $\alpha'$ corrections of string inspired effective theories remains an unsolved problem, we show how to classify duality invariant $\alpha'$ corrections for purely time-dependent (cosmological) backgrounds. We…
The cosmological constant problem is examined under the assumption that the extrinsic curvature of the space-time contributes to the vacuum. A compensation mechanism based on a variable cosmological term is proposed. Under a suitable…
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…
Scalar perturbations of Friedmann-Lemaitre cosmologies can be analyzed in a variety of ways using Einstein's field equations, the Ricci and Bianchi identities, or the conservation equations for the stress-energy tensor, and possibly…
Recent progress on the complete set of solutions of two dimensional classical string theory in any curved spacetime is reviewed. When the curvature is smooth the string solutions are deformed folded string solutions as compared to flat…
Recently proposed theories based on the cosmic presence of a vectorial field are compared and contrasted. In particular the so called Einstein aether theory is discussed in parallel with a recent proposal of a strained space-time theory…
We derive various consistency requirements for Vachaspati-Vilenkin type Monte-Carlo simulations of cosmic string formation or disclination formation in liquid crystals. We argue for the use of a tetrakaidekahedral lattice in such…
We construct and study general static, spherically symmetric, magnetically charged solutions in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity in four dimensions. That is, taking Einstein gravity coupled to a ${\rm U}(1)$ gauge field and a massless…
We investigate the connection between curved spacetime and the emergence of string-instabilities, following the approach developed by Loust\'{o} and S\'{a}nchez for de Sitter and black hole spacetimes. We analyse the linearised equations…
We study the relativistic quantum dynamics of spin-0 particles in the spacetime of a spinning cosmic string that carries both spacelike disclination (conical deficit $\alpha$) and screw dislocation (torsion $J_z$), as well as frame dragging…
We study the time evolution of a $3+1$ dimensional spacetime, where space is a large three-sphere, due to small perturbations of the background fields. We focus on two classes of deformations. One corresponds on the worldsheet to…
We show that a dispiration (a disclination plus a screw dislocation) polarizes the vacuum of a scalar field giving rise to an energy momentum tensor which, as seen from a local inertial frame, presents non vanishing off-diagonal components.…
Space-filling S-branes can mediate a transition between a contracting and an expanding universe in the Einstein frame. Following up on previous work that uncovered such bouncing solutions in the context of weakly coupled thermal…