Related papers: Cosmic F- and D-strings
We consider grand unified theories with superconducting cosmic strings and which admit the mechanism for generating primordial magnetic fields recently discussed by Vachaspati. We show that these models are severely constrained by…
The past year has seen enormous progress in string theory. It has become clear that all of the different string theories are different limits of a single theory. Moreover, in certain limits, one obtains a new, eleven-dimensional structure…
Cosmic strings are topological defects which can be formed as a result of phase transitions with a spontaneous symmetry breaking in the early Universe. The possibility of the generation of a magnetic field around a cosmic string on the…
We explore the cosmological consequences of the superconductivity of QCD axion strings. Axion strings can support a sizeable chiral electric current and charge, which alters their early universe dynamics. Shrinking axion string loops can…
We consider linear cosmological perturbations on the background of a D-brane gas in which the compact dimensions and the dilaton are stabilized. We focus on long wavelength fluctuations and find that there are no instabilities. In…
We review the properties and evolution of strings networks containing both a spectrum of string tensions as well as Y-junctions, namely a point at which three different strings meet. Such a situation is expected in cosmic superstring…
String theory relies on spacetime supersymmetry to guarantee the existence of stable vacua. In this review, we survey two features of non-supersymmetric strings that challenge both aspects: the appearance of tachyons and worldsheet…
We motivate the study of chiral cosmic strings through a scenario of structure formation which mixes D-term inflation and strings. We then discuss some properties of chiral cosmic strings, and results regarding their evolution and possible…
String theory axions appear to be promising candidates for explaining cosmological constant via quintessence. In this paper, we study conditions on the string compactifications under which axion quintessence can happen. For sufficiently…
We discuss the formation of cosmic strings or macroscopic color flux tubes after the deconfinement/confinement phase transition in the pure Yang-Mills theory. Based on holographic dual descriptions, these cosmic strings can be interpreted…
We report on a large scale numerical study of networks of semilocal cosmic strings in flat space in the parameter regime in which they are perturbatively stable. We find a population of segments with an exponential length distribution and…
We discuss the appearance of topological structures from the spontaneous breaking of $E_6$ to the Standard Model via its maximal subgroup $SO(10) \times U(1)_\psi$. They include dumbbells, metastable strings, as well as domain walls bounded…
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…
In this review we describe our current understanding of the properties of open string tachyons on an unstable D-brane or brane-antibrane system in string theory. The various string theoretic methods used for this study include techniques of…
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…
The evolution of cosmic string networks is an interesting dynamical problem. The equations governing these networks are classical and fully specified, but the length scale at which cosmic string loops form has been uncertain to tens of…
We study the stability of cosmic string wakes against the disruption by the dominant Gaussian fluctuations which are present in cosmological models. We find that for a string tension given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$ wakes remain locally stable…
The deep imaging of the field of an observed lensing event by a cosmic string reveals many additional lensing events. We study the statistics of such string lensing. We derive explicit expressions for the distributions of image separations…
Recent developments in cosmic strings are reviewed, with emphasis on unresolved problems.
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…