Related papers: Fermionic massive modes along cosmic strings
Cosmic strings in realistic particle physics models have fermion zero modes in the string core. Such zero modes change the underlying cosmology; for example, the string can carry a current. We consider the stability of fermion zero modes to…
The relevant characteristic features, including energy per unit length and tension, of a cosmic string carrying massless fermionic currents in the framework of the Witten model in the neutral limit are derived through quantization of the…
The equation of state for a superconducting cosmic string whose current is due to fermionic zero modes is derived analytically in the case where the back-reaction of the fermions to the background is neglected. It is first shown that the…
We provide a thorough exposition of recent results on the quantum stabilization of cosmic strings. Stabilization occurs through the coupling to a heavy fermion doublet in a reduced version of the standard model. The study combines the…
This PhD thesis discusses the internal structure of topological defects, and branes in extra-dimensions, carrying fermionic currents. The general framework in which these objects may appear is presented in the first part while the second…
Recent developments in string theory suggest that cosmic strings could be formed at the end of brane inflation. Supergravity provides a realistic model to study the properties of strings arising in brane inflation. Whilst the properties of…
We study the spectrum of fermionic modes on cosmic string loops. We find no fermionic zero modes nor massive bound states - this implies that vortons stabilized by fermionic currents do not exist. We have also studied kink-(anti)kink and…
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…
We consider a toroidal configuration of cosmic string in 3+1 dimensions in an abelian Higgs model, a compactification of the Nielsen-Olesen string. This object is classically unstable. We explicitly compute the number of permitted zero…
We provide a thorough exposition, including technical and numerical details, of previously published results on the quantum stabilization of cosmic strings. Stabilization occurs through the coupling to a heavy fermion doublet in a reduced…
We investigate the standard model in a cosmic string background and show that the electroweak symmetry is partially restored. For a range of parameters the electroweak Higgs field can wind in this region, producing an electroweak string…
We investigate the microphysics of supersymmetric cosmic strings. In particular we focus on the vortices admitted by N=1 supersymmetric abelian Higgs models. We find the vortex solutions and demonstrate that the two simplest supersymmetric…
The dynamical evolution of superconducting cosmic string loops with specific equations of state describing timelike and spacelike currents is studied numerically. This analysis extends previous work in two directions: first it shows results…
We study the quantum stabilization of a cosmic string by a heavy fermion doublet in a reduced version of the standard model. We show that charged strings, obtained by populating fermionic bound state levels, become stable if the…
A new cosmic string model specified by two independent mass parameters is introduced for the purpose of providing a realistic representation of the macroscopic dynamical behaviour of Witten type (superconducting) vortex defects of the…
In the standard model, stabilization of a classically unstable cosmic string may occur through the quantum fluctuations of a heavy fermion doublet. We review numerical results from a semiclassical expansion in a reduced version of the…
It is shown that it is possible for bound fermions on a cosmic string to form a superconducting state. Due to the attractive force between them, particles moving in opposite directions along the string form bound pairs. This involves a…
We show that there exist massive perturbative states of the ten dimensional Green-Schwarz closed superstring that are stabilized against collapse due to presence of fermionic zero modes on its worldsheet. The excited fermionic degrees of…
In this thesis we investigate the microphysics of cosmic strings in non-minimal quantum field theories. In particular we consider theories in which fermion fields couple to the strings, and those with larger symmetry groups, such as grand…
Within a slightly simplified version of the electroweak standard model we investigate the stabilization of cosmic strings by fermion quantum fluctuations. Previous studies of quantum energies considered variants of the Nielsen-Olesen…