4,812 research outputs found
Constraints on string networks with junctions
We consider the constraints on string networks with junctions in which the
strings may all be different, as may be found for example in a network of
cosmic superstrings. We concentrate on three aspects of junction
dynamics. First we consider the propagation of small amplitude waves across a
static three-string junction. Then, generalizing our earlier work, we determine
the kinematic constraints on two colliding strings with different tensions. As
before, the important conclusion is that strings do not always reconnect with a
third string; they can pass straight through one another (or in the case of
non-abelian strings become stuck in an X configuration), the constraint
depending on the angle at which the strings meet, on their relative velocity,
and on the ratios of the string tensions. For example, if the two colliding
strings have equal tensions, then for ultra-relativistic initial velocities
they pass through one another. However, if their tensions are sufficiently
different they can reconnect. Finally, we consider the global properties of
junctions and strings in a network. Assuming that, in a network, the incoming
waves at a junction are independently randomly distributed, we determine the
r.m.s. velocities of strings and calculate the average speed at which a
junction moves along each of the three strings from which it is formed. Our
findings suggest that junction dynamics may be such as to preferentially remove
the heavy strings from the network leaving a network of predominantly light
strings. Furthermore the r.m.s. velocity of strings in a network with junctions
is smaller than 1/\sqrt{2}, the result for conventional Nambu-Goto strings
without junctions in Minkowski spacetime.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Version to appear in PRD. (2 new references and
slightly extended discussion in section VII
Primordial black holes as a tool for constraining non-Gaussianity
Primordial Black Holes (PBH's) can form in the early Universe from the
collapse of large density fluctuations. Tight observational limits on their
abundance constrain the amplitude of the primordial fluctuations on very small
scales which can not otherwise be constrained, with PBH's only forming from the
extremely rare large fluctuations. The number of PBH's formed is therefore
sensitive to small changes in the shape of the tail of the fluctuation
distribution, which itself depends on the amount of non-Gaussianity present. We
study, for the first time, how quadratic and cubic local non-Gaussianity of
arbitrary size (parameterised by f_nl and g_nl respectively) affects the PBH
abundance and the resulting constraints on the amplitude of the fluctuations on
very small scales. Intriguingly we find that even non-linearity parameters of
order unity have a significant impact on the PBH abundance. The sign of the
non-Gaussianity is particularly important, with the constraint on the allowed
fluctuation amplitude tightening by an order of magnitude as f_nl changes from
just -0.5 to 0.5. We find that if PBH's are observed in the future, then
regardless of the amplitude of the fluctuations, non-negligible negative f_nl
would be ruled out. Finally we show that g_nl can have an even larger effect on
the number of PBH's formed than f_nl.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, v2: version to appear in Phys. Rev. D with minor
changes, v3: typos corrected (including factor of 1/2 in erfc prefactor), no
changes to result
Universality and Critical Phenomena in String Defect Statistics
The idea of biased symmetries to avoid or alleviate cosmological problems
caused by the appearance of some topological defects is familiar in the context
of domain walls, where the defect statistics lend themselves naturally to a
percolation theory description, and for cosmic strings, where the proportion of
infinite strings can be varied or disappear entirely depending on the bias in
the symmetry. In this paper we measure the initial configurational statistics
of a network of string defects after a symmetry-breaking phase transition with
initial bias in the symmetry of the ground state. Using an improved algorithm,
which is useful for a more general class of self-interacting walks on an
infinite lattice, we extend the work in \cite{MHKS} to better statistics and a
different ground state manifold, namely , and explore various different
discretisations. Within the statistical errors, the critical exponents of the
Hagedorn transition are found to be quite possibly universal and identical to
the critical exponents of three-dimensional bond or site percolation. This
improves our understanding of the percolation theory description of defect
statistics after a biased phase transition, as proposed in \cite{MHKS}. We also
find strong evidence that the existence of infinite strings in the Vachaspati
Vilenkin algorithm is generic to all (string-bearing) vacuum manifolds, all
discretisations thereof, and all regular three-dimensional lattices.Comment: 62 pages, plain LaTeX, macro mathsymb.sty included, figures included.
also available on
http://starsky.pcss.maps.susx.ac.uk/groups/pt/preprints/96/96011.ps.g
Stretching Wiggly Strings
How does the amplitude of a wiggle on a string change when the string is
stretched? We answer this question for both longitudinal and transverse wiggles
and for arbitrary equation of state, {\it i.e.}, for arbitrary relation between
the tension and the energy per unit length of the string.
This completes our derivation of the renormalization of string parameters which
results from averaging out small scale wiggles on a string. The program is
presented here in its entirety.Comment: Written with ReVTeX 3.0 package. Two figures are not included.
Complete paper with postscript figures can be retrieved through anonymous ftp
@quark.phys.ufl.edu. Get /preprints/ifthep94_4.tar.gz, gunzip and tar it.
UFIFT-HEP-94-
Collisions of strings with Y junctions
We study the dynamics of Nambu--Goto strings with junctions at which three
strings meet. In particular, we exhibit one simple exact solution and examine
the process of intercommuting of two straight strings, in which they exchange
partners but become joined by a third string. We show that there are important
kinematical constraints on this process. The exchange cannot occur if the
strings meet with very large relative velocity. This may have important
implications for the evolution of cosmic superstring networks and non-abelian
string networks.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, uses revtex 4. Clarifying comments added to
correct a conceptual error, reference updated. Version accepted by Phys Rev
Letters, with additional references and minor change
Kinematic Constraints on Formation of Bound States of Cosmic Strings - Field Theoretical Approach
Superstring theory predicts the potential formation of string networks with
bound states ending in junctions. Kinematic constraints for junction formation
have been derived within the Nambu-Goto thin string approximation. Here we test
these constraints numerically in the framework of the Abelian-Higgs model in
the Type-I regime and report on good agreement with the analytical predictions.
We also demonstrate that strings can effectively pass through each other when
they meet at speeds slightly above the critical velocity permitting bound state
formation. This is due to reconnection effects that are beyond the scope of the
Nambu-Goto approximation.Comment: 6 pages, 12 eps figures - matches the published versio
Generalized Assisted Inflation
We obtain a new class of exact cosmological solutions for multi-scalar fields
with exponential potentials. We generalize the assisted inflation solutions
previously obtained, and demonstrate how they are modified when there exist
cross-couplings between the fields, such as occur in supergravity inspired
cosmological models.Comment: 5 page
Cosmic (super)string constraints from 21 cm radiation
We calculate the contribution of cosmic strings arising from a phase
transition in the early universe, or cosmic superstrings arising from brane
inflation, to the cosmic 21 cm power spectrum at redshifts z > 30. Future
experiments can exploit this effect to constrain the cosmic string tension Gu
and probe virtually the entire brane inflation model space allowed by current
observations. Although current experiments with a collecting area of ~ 1 km^2
will not provide any useful constraints, future experiments with a collecting
area of 10^4-10^6 km^2 covering the cleanest 10% of the sky can in principle
constrain cosmic strings with tension Gu > 10^(-10) to 10^(-12)
(superstring/phase transition mass scale >10^13 GeV).Comment: Accepted for publication in PR
How does the geodesic rule really work for global symmetry breaking first order phase transitions?
The chain of events usually understood to lead to the formation of
topological defects during phase transitions is known as the Kibble mechanism.
A central component of the mechanism is the so-called ``geodesic rule''.
Although in the Abelian Higgs model the validity of the geodesic rule has been
questioned recently, it is known to be valid on energetic grounds for a global
U(1) symmetry breaking transition. However, even for these globally symmetric
models no dynamical analisys of the rule has been carried to this date, and
some points as to how events proceed still remain obscure. This paper tries to
clarify the dynamics of the geodesic rule in the context of a global U(1)
model. With an appropriate ansatz for the field modulus we find a family of
analytical expressions, phase walls, that accounts for both geodesic and
nongeodesic configurations. We then show how the latter ones are unstable and
decay into the former by nucleating pairs of defects. Finnally, we try to give
a physical perspective of how the geodesic rule might really work in these
transitions.Comment: 10 pages, 9 multiple figre
Comparative studies on the substrate specificity of avian myeloblastosis virus proteinase and lentiviral proteinases
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