Related papers: Cosmological String Backgrounds
We discuss qualitative features of the conformal relation between certain classes of gravity theories and general relativity, common to different themes such as $f(R)$, Brans-Dicke-type, and string theories. We focus primarily on the frame…
We review applications of string theory to cosmology, from primordial times to the present-day accelerated expansion. Starting with a brief overview of cosmology and string compactifications, we discuss in detail moduli stabilisation,…
We study cosmic strings in the complex symmetron model, a scalar-tensor theory with a spontaneously broken local $U(1)$ symmetry in low matter density regions. Using numerical simulations, we show that these strings preferentially attach to…
The motion of a string in curved spacetime is discussed in detail. The basic formalism for string motion in Minkowski spacetime and in curved spacetime is presented. The description applies to cosmic strings as well as to fundamental…
A large class of cosmological solutions (of the Einstein equations) in string theory, in the presence of Maxwell fields, is obtained by $O(d,d)$ transformations of simple backgrounds with $d$ toroidal isometries. In all the examples in…
The cosmological constant and electroweak hierarchy problem have been a great inspiration for research. Nevertheless, the resolution of these two naturalness problems remains mysterious from the perspective of a low-energy effective field…
I report recent studies on the evolution of perturbations in the context of the ``pre-big-bang" scenario typical of string cosmology, with emphasis on the formation of a stochastic background of relic photons and gravitons, and its possible…
This is a short account, based on a talk given at the 2024 Moriond Cosmology Conference, of where and why string theory matters in early universe cosmology. It is written for a cosmology audience predisposed to be at best sceptical, and at…
This is the written version of a talk given at the Santa Barbara Workshop on Supersymmetry in December of 1995. It summarizes a collection of results on superstring cosmology obtained by the author and various collaborators, and contains…
We reconsider the general properties of gravitational lensing effects induced by cosmic string systems, taking into account their equation of state and motion equations. We explicitly show that the deflection patterns induced by a string is…
We study two-dimensional string theory on a time-dependent background, whose worldsheet description consists of Liouville theory at central charge c = 1 and Liouville theory at central charge c = 25, together with the conformal ghosts. We…
We review several cosmological backgrounds of gravitational waves accessible to direct-detection experiments, with a special emphasis on those backgrounds due to first-order phase transitions and networks of cosmic (super-)strings. For…
String backgrounds are described as purely geometric objects related to moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces, in the spirit of Segal's definition of a conformal field theory. Relations with conformal field theory, topological field theory and…
We introduce a very early universe model based on the thermodynamics of a gas of closed strings in a background which is non-perturbative in $\alpha'$. Upon considering the fully $\alpha'$-corrected equations extended to include certain…
It is presented an exact solution of straight spinning cosmic strings in Brans-Dicke theory of gravitation. The possibility of the existence of closed timelike curves around these cosmic strings is analyzed. Furthermore, the stability about…
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…
An interpretation of spacelike singularities in string theory uses target space duality to relate the collapsing Schwarzschild geometry near the singularity to an inflationary cosmology in dual variables. An appealing picture thus results…
We present a detailed analysis of the cosmic string spectrum. Explicit solutions are numerically found using Mathematica and presented here for the lowest-lying supported modes. Most of the emphasis is on the Nambu-Goldstone modes and the…
The cosmic string theory for cosmological fluctuations is a good example of healthy scientific progress in cosmology. It is a well defined physically motivated model that has been tested by cosmological observations and has been ruled out…
In this set of lectures I review recent developments in string theory emphasizing their non-perturbative aspects and their recently discovered duality symmetries. The goal of the lectures is to make the recent exciting developments in…