Acceleration of a polarized neutron by its weak nuclear self-interaction

It is proven that the rotation of the spin of a polarized neutron is accompanied by a net nuclear force upon it. This force arises from the weak nuclear self-interaction of its constituent quarks, whose chiral nature induces the transfer of a net momentum to the fields of Z and W-bosons. This effect is linear in Fermi's constant. As a result, it is estimated that along the spin-flip of a polarized neutron its velocity undergoes a variation of the order of meters per second.Comment: 4-page article + 6-page appendix + 1 figur

Topological Defects from First Order Gauge Theory Phase Transitions

We investigate the mechanism by which topological defects form in first order phase transitions with a charged order parameter. We show how thick superconductor vortices and heavy cosmic strings form by trapping of magnetic flux. In an external magnetic field, intermediate objects such as strips and membranes of magnetic flux and chains of single winding defects are produced. At non-zero temperature, a variety of spontaneous defects of different winding numbers arise. In cosmology, our results mean that the magnetic flux thermal fluctuations get trapped in a primordial multi-tension string network. The mechanism may also apply to the production of cosmic-like strings in brane collisions. In a thin type-I superconductor film, flux strips are found to be meta-stable while thick vortices are stable up to some critical value of the winding number which increases with the thickness of the film. In addition, a non-dissipative Josephson-like current is obtained across the strips of quantized magnetic flux.Comment: Corrections made on sections 4,5. Higher quality figures in published versio

Heavy cosmic strings

We argue that cosmic strings with high winding numbers generally form in first-order gauge symmetry breaking phase transitions, and we demonstrate this using computer simulations. These strings are heavier than single-winding strings and therefore more easily observable. Their cosmological evolution may also be very different.Comment: 4 pages, updated to match the published versio