Related papers: Cosmic Strings and the String Dilaton
Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali have proposed that the fundamental gravitational scale is close to 1 TeV, and that the observed weakness of gravity at long distances is explained by the presence of large extra compact dimensions. If…
Low energy string theory predicts the existence of an axion field which can lead to cosmic birefringence. We solve the electromagnetic wave equations in the presence of such an axion and a dilaton field in order to determine their effect on…
The thin string limit of Cosmic Strings is investigated using a description in terms of Colombeau's theory of nonlinear generalised functions. It is shown that in this description the energy-momentum tensor has a well defined thin string…
String cosmology models predict a cosmic background of gravitational waves produced during a period of dilaton-driven inflation. I describe the background, present astrophysical and cosmological bounds on it, and discuss in some detail how…
One of the few firm predictions of string theory is the existence of a massless scalar field coupled to gravity, the dilaton. In its presence, the value of the fundamental constants of the universe, such as the fine-structure constant, will…
A survey of solutions to the cosmological moduli problem in string theory. The only extant proposal which may work is Intermediate Scale Inflation as proposed by Randall and Thomas. Supersymmetry preserving dynamics which could give large…
We review a possible non-minimal coupling (dilatonic) of a scalar field (axion like particle) to electromagnetism, through experimental and observational constraints. Such a coupling is motivated from recent quasar spectrum observations…
We study dilaton-electrodynamics in flat spacetime and exhibit a set of global cosmic string like solutions in which the magnetic flux is confined. These solutions continue to exist for a small enough dilaton mass but cease to do so above a…
One of the clear predictions of string theory is the presence of a dynamical scalar partner of the spin-2 graviton, known as the dilaton. This will violate the Einstein Equivalence Principle, leading to a plethora of possibly observable…
Recently it has been shown that string gas cosmology, an alternative model of the very early universe which does not involve a period of cosmological inflation, can give rise to an almost scale invariant spectrum of metric perturbations.…
We reconsider the formation of (global) cosmic strings during and after preheating by calculating the dynamics of a scalar field on both two- and three- dimensional lattices. We have found that there is little differences between the…
We study the implications of a scalar-tensorial gravity for the metric of an isolated self-gravitating superconducting cosmic string. These modifications are induced by an arbitrary coupling of a massless scalar field to the usual tensorial…
We study the spectrum, couplings and cosmological and astrophysical implications of the moduli fields for the class of Calabi-Yau IIB string compactifications for which moduli stabilisation leads to an exponentially large volume V ~ 10^{15}…
We discuss some aspects of string cosmology with an emphasis on the role played by the dilaton. A cosmological scenario based on the assumption that all spatial dimensions are periodic so that winding modes play an important role is…
Using recent simulation results, we provide the mass and speed spectrum of cosmic string loops. This is the quantity of primary interest for many phenomenological signatures of cosmic strings, and it can be accurately predicted using…
We put robust upper limits on the average cosmological density \Omega_s of cosmic strings based on the variability properties of a large homogeneous sample of SDSS quasars. We search for an excess of characteristic variations of quasar…
String theory suggests the existence of gravitational-strength scalar fields ("dilaton" and "moduli") whose couplings to matter violate the equivalence principle. This provides a new motivation for high-precision clock experiments, as well…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…
We find the constraints from WMAP and SDSS data on the fraction of cosmological fluctuations sourced by local cosmic strings using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis. In addition to varying the usual 6 cosmological parameters and…
One proposed solution of the moduli problem of string cosmology requires that the moduli are quite heavy, their decays reheating the universe to temperatures above the scale of nucleosynthesis. In many of these scenarios, the moduli are…