Related papers: The no-defect conjecture in cosmic crystallography
The influence of topological defects on phase synchronization and phase coherence in two-dimensional arrays of locally-coupled, nonidentical, chaotic oscillators is investigated. The motion of topological defects leads to a breakdown of…
Two distinct structures of aggregates of atoms connected by anisotropic bonds with a network configuration are discussed from the viewpoint of a point set topology. A specific topological space connects the two types of topological…
The topological classification of all known non-magnetic crystalline compounds is now complete, revealing thousands of new candidate topological materials waiting to be explored in the lab.
It has been persuasively argued that the number of the effective degrees of freedom of a macroscopic system is proportional to its area rather than to its volume. This entails interesting consequences for cosmology. Here we present a model…
Recently, level crossings in the energy bands of crystals have been identified as a key signature for topological phase transitions. Using realistic models we show that the parameter space controlling the occurrence of level coincidences in…
Questions such as whether we live in a spatially finite universe, and what its shape and size may be, are among the fundamental open problems that high precision modern cosmology needs to resolve. These questions go beyond the scope of…
Under the assumption that the cosmological constant vanishes in the true ground state with lowest possible energy density, we argue that the observed small but finite vacuum-like energy density can be explained if we consider a theory with…
Fluid cosmologies are consistent with the generally accepted observational evidence during intermediate and late times, and they need not have singular behavior in primordial times. A general form for fluid cosmology consistent with…
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…
When a symmetry gets spontaneously broken in a phase transition, topological defects are typically formed. The theoretical picture of how this happens in a breakdown of a global symmetry, the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, is well established and…
The role of global topology in the dynamics of the Universe is poorly understood. Along with observational programmes for determining the topology of the Universe, some small theoretical steps have recently been made. Heuristic…
In condensed matter physics and related areas, topological defects play important roles in phase transitions and critical phenomena. Homotopy theory facilitates the classification of such topological defects. After a pedagogic introduction…
This is a survey article for the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, 2nd Edition. Topological defects are described in the context of the 2-dimensional Ising model on the lattice, in 2-dimensional quantum field theory, in topological…
If the assumption that physical space has a trivial topology is dropped, then the Universe may be described by a multiply connected Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre model on a sub-horizon scale. Specific candidates for the multiply connected space…
There are two prominent applications of the mathematical concept of topology to the physics of materials: band topology, which classifies different topological insulators and semimetals, and topological defects that represent immutable…
The relation between thermodynamic phase transitions in classical systems and topology changes in their configuration space is discussed for a one-dimensional, analytically tractable solid-on-solid model. The topology of a certain family of…
Many systems in nature and the synthetic world involve ordered arrangements of units on two-dimensional surfaces. We review here the fundamental role payed by both the topology of the underlying surface and its detailed curvature. Topology…
In this paper we review the hypothesis that a considerable part of the cosmic ray flux observed above about $10^{19}\eV$ may be produced by decaying or annihilating topological defects left over from phase transitions in the early universe…
A salient feature of topological phases are surface states and many of the widely studied physical properties are directly tied to their existence. Although less explored, a variety of topological phases can however similarly be…
An introduction to topological defects in cosmology is given. We discuss their possible relevance for structure formation. Especial emphasis is given on the signature of topological defects in the spectrum of anisotropies in the cosmic…