Related papers: Interactions between $U(1)$ Cosmic Strings: An Ana…
We study the collisions of elastic superconducting strings, also referred to as current-carrying strings, formed in a $U_{\rm local}(1) \times U_{\rm global}(1)$ field-theory model, using three-dimensional numerical field-theoretic…
For vortex strings in the Abelian Higgs model and D-strings in superstring theory, both of which can be regarded as cosmic strings, we give analytical study of reconnection (recombination, inter-commutation) when they collide, by using…
The formalism for computing the gravitational power radiation from excitations on cosmic strings forming a junction is presented and applied to the simple case of co-planar strings at a junction when the excitations are generated along one…
Cosmic strings are predicted in many models beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In models which admit strings, a network of strings will inevitably be formed in a phase transition in the early universe and will persist to the…
The interaction energy and force between widely separated strings is analyzed in a field theory having applications to superconducting cosmic strings, the SO(5) model of high-temperature superconductivity, and solitons in nonlinear optics.…
We present investigations of lens phenomenological properties of cosmic strings for deep galaxy surveys. General results that have obtained for lineic energy distribution are presented first. We stress that generically the local convergence…
We examine the statistical properties of defects formed by the breaking of a U(1) symmetry when the Higgs field has a power spectrum $P(k) \propto k^n$. We find a marked dependence of the amount of infinite string on the spectral index $n$…
At the classical level we study open bosonic strings. A generic description of string self-interactions localized at string ends is given. Self-interactions are characterized by two dimensionless coupling constants. The model is rewritten…
We study the stability of superconducting strings in a U(1)_{local} x U(1)_{global} model coupled via a gauge field interaction term to U(1) Abelian-Higgs strings. The effect of the interaction on current stability is numerically…
We discuss Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen (ANO) strings with the one-loop effective potentials induced by higher-dimensional gauge theory. As our starting point, we consider a five-dimensional $SU(2)$ gauge theory with an extra-dimensional space…
Cosmic (super)strings offer promising ways to test ideas about the early universe and physics at high energies. While in field theory constructions their tension is usually assumed to be constant (or at most slowly-varying), this is often…
We argue that cosmic strings with high winding numbers generally form in first-order gauge symmetry breaking phase transitions, and we demonstrate this using computer simulations. These strings are heavier than single-winding strings and…
We discuss the cosmological evolution of cosmic strings with time-dependent tension. We show that, in the case that the tension changes as a power of time, the cosmic string network obeys the scaling solution: the characteristic scale of…
We consider the evolution of a network of strings in an expanding universe, allowing for the formation of junctions between strings of different tensions. By explicitly including, in the velocity-dependent evolution equations for the…
The unique, conical spacetime created by cosmic strings brings about distinctive gravitational lensing phenomena. The variety of these distinctive phenomena is increased when the strings have non-trivial mutual interactions. In particular,…
A general family of charge-current carrying cosmic string models is investigated. In the special case of circular configurations in arbitrary axially symmetric gravitational and electromagnetic backgrounds the dynamics is determined by…
Cosmological evolution of axionic strings is investigated by numerically solving field equations of a complex scalar field in 3+1 dimensions. It is shown that the global strings relax to the scaling solution with a significantly smaller…
The time-dependent metric of a cosmic string leads to an effective interaction between the string and photons - the "gravitational Aharonov-Bohm" effect -- and causes cosmic strings to emit light. We evaluate the radiation of pairs of…
In these lectures, I review the current status of cosmic strings and cosmic superstrings. I first discuss topological defects in the context of Grand Unified Theories, focusing in particular in cosmic strings arising as gauge theory…
String cosmology aims at providing a reliable description of the very early Universe in the regime where standard-model physics is no longer appropriate, and where we can safely apply the basic ingredients of superstring models such as…