Related papers: A Topological Criterion for Alice Strings
We perform the first numerical simulations of necklaces in a non-Abelian gauge theory. Necklaces are composite classical solutions which can be interpreted as monopoles trapped on strings, rather generic structures in a Grand Unified…
The toric code is a simple and exactly solvable example of topological order realising Abelian anyons. However, it was shown to support non-local lattice defects, namely twists, which exhibit non-Abelian anyonic behaviour [1]. Motivated by…
We investigate experimentally the distribution of configurations of a ring with an elementary topological constraint, a ``figure-8'' twist. Using vibrated granular chains, which permit controlled preparation and direct observation of such a…
These are notes of a series of lectures on mirror symmetry and topological string theory given at the Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University. The N=2 superconformal algebra, its deformations and its chiral ring are reviewed. A…
We classify potential cosmic strings according to the topological charge measurable outside the string core. We conjecture that in string theory it is this charge that governs the stability of long strings. This would imply that the SO(32)…
Using the generalised AdS/CFT correspondence, we show that there are certain ten-dimensional differentiable manifolds such that string theory on such a manifold is unstable [to the emission of "large branes"] no matter what the metric may…
We consider a generalization of the Nielsen-Olesen ansatz, in an abelian-Higgs model with externally coupled charge, which describes strings with twisted magnetic flux lines in the vortex core. The solution does not possess cylindrical…
The modular symmetries of string loop threshold corrections for gauge coupling constants are studied in the presence of discrete Wilson lines for all examples of abelian orbifolds, where the point group is realised by the action of Coxeter…
Superconducting cosmic strings (SCSs) have received revived interests recently. In this paper we treat closed SCSs as oriented knotted line defects, and concentrate on their topology by studying the Hopf topological invariant. This…
Cosmic strings in the early universe have received revived interest in recent years. In this paper we derive these structures as topological defects from singular distributions of the quintessence field of dark energy. Our emphasis is…
Is string theory uniquely determined by self-consistency? Causality and unitarity seemingly permit a multitude of putative deformations, at least at the level of two-to-two scattering. Motivated by this question, we initiate a systematic…
We calculate couplings of arbitrary order from correlation functions among twisted strings, using conformal field theory. Twisted strings arise in heterotic string compactified on orbifolds yielding matter fields in the low energy limit. We…
In gauge systems coupled to matter, the static potential flattens out at a scale where the confining string breaks by formation of a dynamical pair of particles. Surprisingly, such a breaking is invisible in Wilson loops even when the…
We construct a family of exactly solvable spin models that illustrate a novel mechanism for fractionalization in topologically ordered phases, dubbed the string flux mechanism. The essential idea is that an anyon of a topological phase can…
We formulate a twisted version of the conjectured duality between heterotic and type I string theories. Our formulation relates the chiral part of the heterotic string with a type I topological B-model on a Calabi-Yau five-fold. We provide…
Many natural, complex systems are remarkably stable thanks to an absence of feedback acting on their elements. When described as networks, these exhibit few or no cycles, and associated matrices have small leading eigenvalues. It has been…
We study the breaking of the string spanned between test charges in the three dimensional Abelian Higgs model with compact gauge field and fundamentally charged Higgs field at zero temperature. In agreement with current expectations we…
It has been pointed out that Nielsen-Olesen vortices may be able to decay by pair production of black holes. We show that when the abelian Higgs model is embedded in a larger theory, the additional fields may lead to selection rules for…
Topological string theory near the conifold point of a Calabi-Yau threefold gives rise to factorially divergent power series which encode the all-genus enumerative information. These series lead to infinite towers of singularities in their…
In these lectures, we review the main properties of the topological theory obtained by twisting the N=2 two-dimensional superconformal algebra, associated to supersymmetric string compactifications. In particular, we describe a set of…