Related papers: Cosmic Strings - Dead Again?
In real-time lattice simulations of cosmic strings in the Abelian Higgs model, the broken translational invariance introduces lattice artefacts; relativistic strings therefore decelerate and radiate. We introduce two different methods to…
The investigation of the inhomogeneities in modern inflationary Universe scenarios is related, in particular, with the study of the role played by scalar fields in cosmological evolution. We present the model described by one of the…
The predictions of the inflationary LCDM paradigm match today's high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy extremely well. The same data put tight limits on other sources of anisotropy. Cosmic strings are a…
Understanding axion cosmology has important experimental consequences since it constrains the range of allowed values for the axion mass. In the standard thermal scenario, which assumes Peccei-Quinn symmetry restoration after inflation, an…
Motivated by brane physics, we consider the non-linear Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) extension of the Abelian-Higgs model and study the corresponding cosmic string configurations. The model is defined by a potential term, assumed to be of the…
We present a minimal model for the Universe evolution fully extracted from effective String Theory. By linking this model with a minimal but well established observational information, we prove that it gives realistic predictions on early…
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,…
We consider, in a string theory framework, physical processes of phenomenological interest in models with a low string scale. The amplitudes we study involve tree-level virtual gravitational exchange, divergent in a field-theoretical…
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…
We revisit the classical instability of closed strings in the Abelian Higgs model. The instability is expressed by a vanishing energy as the torus-like configuration shrinks to zero size. We treat the radius of the torus as a collective…
We study field theoretical models for cosmic strings with flat directions in curved space-time. More precisely, we consider minimal models with semilocal, axionic and tachyonic strings, respectively. In flat space-time, the string solutions…
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…
We first examine the microstructure of a cosmic string endowed with two simple Abelian currents. This microstructure depends on two state parameters. We then provide the macroscopic description of such a string and show that it depends on…
We evolve the network of global strings in the matter-dominated universe by means of numerical simulations. The existence of the scaling solution is confirmed as in the radiation-dominated universe but the scaling parameter $\xi$ takes a…
We present the low-energy effective theory on long strings in quantum field theory, including a streamlined review of previous literature on the subject. Such long strings can appear in the form of solitonic strings, as in the 4d Abelian…
Cosmic strings are linear concentrations of energy that may be formed at phase transitions in the very early universe. At one time they were thought to provide a possible origin for the density inhomogeneities from which galaxies eventually…
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…
We construct, for the first time, the time-domain gravitational wave strain waveform from the collapse of a strongly gravitating Abelian Higgs cosmic string loop in full general relativity. We show that the strain exhibits a large memory…
Axion strings are horizon-size topological defects that may be produced in the early Universe. Ultra-light axion-like particles may form strings that persist to temperatures below that of big bang nucleosynthesis. Such strings have been…
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…