Related papers: Quantum fields with topological defects
We argue that topological compactons (solitons with compact support) may be quite common objects if $k$-fields, i.e., fields with nonstandard kinetic term, are considered, by showing that even for models with well-behaved potentials the…
Quantum graphity offers the intriguing notion that space emerges in the low energy states of the spatial degrees of freedom of a dynamical lattice. Here we investigate metastable domain structures which are likely to exist in the low energy…
We provide a simple explanation of complex magnetic patterns observed in ferromagnetic nanostructures. To this end we identify elementary topological defects in the field of magnetization: ordinary vortices in the bulk and vortices with…
A two-dimensional quantum mechanical system consisting of a particle coupled to two magnetic impurities of different strengths, in a harmonic potential, is considered. Topological boundary conditions at impurity locations imply that the…
Classical limits of quantum systems are shown to lead to different conceptions of spaces different from the classical one underlying the process of quantization of such systems. The accent is put in situations where traces of…
A $q$-form global symmetry is a global symmetry for which the charged operators are of space-time dimension $q$; e.g. Wilson lines, surface defects, etc., and the charged excitations have $q$ spatial dimensions; e.g. strings, membranes,…
We study topological defects with a general structure in higher-dimensional cosmological backgrounds described by a set of angle deficit parameters. As special cases, they include higher-dimensional generalizations of cosmic strings and…
We examine simulations of the formation of domain walls, cosmic strings, and monopoles on a cubic lattice, in which the topological defects are assumed to lie at the zeros of a piecewise constant 1, 2, or 3 component Gaussian random field,…
In non-Abelian field theories with q-symmetry groups the massive particles have a non-local interpretation with a stringlike spectrum. It is shown that a massless vector similarly acquires a tower of masses by spontaneous symmetry breaking.
There is a chance that singleton fields, that in the context of strings and membranes have been regarded as topological gauge fields that can interact only at the boundary of anti-De Sitter space, at spatial infinity, may have a more…
Yang monopole as a zero-dimensional topological defect has been well established in multiple fields in physics. However, it remains an intriguing question to understand interaction effects on Yang monopoles. Here, we show that collective…
It is argued that quantum gravity has an interpretation as a topological field theory provided a certain constraint from the path intergral measure is respected. The constraint forces us to couple gauge and matter fields to gravity for…
Topological defects (such as monopoles, vortex lines, or domain walls) mark locations where disparate choices of a broken symmetry vacuum elsewhere in the system lead to irreconcilable differences. They are energetically costly (the energy…
We discuss nonstandard continuum quantum field theories in 2+1 dimensions. They exhibit exotic global symmetries, a subtle spectrum of charged excitations, and dualities similar to dualities of systems in 1+1 dimensions. These continuum…
In this note we show that the cosmological domain wall and the de Sitter quantum breaking problems complement each other in theories with discrete symmetries that are spontaneously broken at low energies. Either the symmetry is exact and…
In supersymmetric theories, topological defects can have nontrivial behaviors determined purely by whether or not supersymmetry is restored in the defect core. A well-known example of this is that some supersymmetric cosmic strings are…
Topological defects such as cosmic strings may have been formed at early-universe phase transitions. Direct tests of this idea are impossible, but the mechanism can be elucidated by studying analogous processes in low-temperature…
The composite cosmological objects -- Kibble-Lazarides-Shafi (KLS) walls bounded by strings and cosmic strings terminated by Nambu monopoles -- could be produced during the phase transitions in the early Universe. Recent experiments in…
This paper tentatively conjectures a possible physical picture that may help explain links between quantum field theories and string theories. A correspondence might occur if the stringy parameters $\tau $ and $\sigma_i $ are interpreted as…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…