Related papers: The evolution and persistence of dumbbells
Theories of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking predict a strong first order cosmological phase transition: we compute the resulting signals, primordial black holes and gravitational waves. These theories employ one SM-neutral scalar,…
Our understanding of the mechanism by which topological defects are formed in symmetry breaking phase transitions has recently changed. We examine the non-equilibrium dynamics of defect formation for weakly-coupled global O(N) theories…
Cosmic strings with degrees of freedom beyond the standard Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen or Nambu-Goto strings are ubiquitous in field theory as well as in models with extra dimensions, such as string theoretic brane inflation scenarios. Here we…
The spectrum of stable electrically and magnetically charged supersymmetric particles can change discontinuously as one changes the vacuum on the Coulomb branch of gauge theories with extended supersymmetry in four dimensions. We show that…
We study scalar singlet extensions of the Standard Model (SM), focusing on scenarios where dark matter (DM) is stabilized by a \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) symmetry. In the minimal single-scalar extension of the SM, only a narrow region near the Higgs…
We present theoretical results on the deterministic and stochastic motion of a dumbbell carried by a uniform flow through a three-dimensional spatially periodic potential. Depending on parameters like the flow velocity, there are two…
The formation of topological defects during continuous second-order phase transitions is well described by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM). However, when the spontaneously broken symmetry is only approximate, such transitions become smooth…
We discuss the temporal variation of the equation of state of a classical string network, evolving in a background in which the Hubble radius 1/H shrinks to a minimum and then re-expands to infinity. We also present a method to look for…
We study the formation and evolution of an interconnected string network in large-scale field-theory numerical simulations, both in flat spacetime and in expanding universe. The network consists of gauge U(1) strings of two different kinds…
The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which includes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in constructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that these…
We revisit previously developed analytic models for defect evolution and adapt them appropriately for the study of semilocal string networks. We thus confirm the expectation (based on numerical simulations) that linear scaling evolution is…
We analyze the process of string vacuum destabilization due to instanton induced superpotential couplings which depend linearly on charged fields. These non-perturbative instabilities result in potentials for the D-brane moduli and lead to…
Is perturbative stability intimately tied with the existence of spacetime fermions in string theory in more than two dimensions? Type 0'B string theory in ten-dimensional flat space is a rare example of a non-tachyonic, non-supersymmetric…
The control of condensed matter systems out of equilibrium by laser pulses allows us to investigate the system trajectories through symmetry-breaking phase transitions. Thus the evolution of both collective modes and single particle…
We explore the possibility of modeling electroweak physics in a warped extra dimension with a soft wall. The infrared boundary is replaced with a smoothly varying dilaton field that provides a dynamical spacetime cutoff. We analyze gravity,…
We present a detailed analysis of classical solutions in the bosonic sector of the electroweak theory which describe vortices carrying a constant electric current ${\cal I}$. These vortices exist for any value of the Higgs boson mass and…
In this talk, I discuss our recent work concerning the construction of non-supersymmetric heterotic string models which have exponentially suppressed dilaton tadpoles and cosmological constants, and thus greatly enhanced stability…
Ellis-Bronnikov wormholes suffer from an unstable radial mode. Here we investigate the evolution of the unstable mode(s) for charged wormholes. We show that the instability remains in the presence of charge, but exhibits a very fast…
New strong gauge interactions remain a viable source for the electroweak symmetry breaking. However, addressing the generation of fermion masses remains a challenge. A basic observable which provides stringent constraints on the flavor…
Motivated by understanding the nonlinear gravitational dynamics of spacetimes admitting stably trapped null geodesics, such as ultracompact objects and black string solutions to general relativity, we explore the dynamics of nonlinear…