arXiv subjects

M. Sakellariadou

Publications and source records attributed to M. Sakellariadou.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Genericity of Cosmic Strings Formation in SUSY GUTs

The idea of GUT implies that the universe went through a series of phase transitions during which topological defects are expected to form. We investigate here the genericity of cosmic strings formation in realistic SUSY GUTs models. We conclude that all acceptable symmetry breaking schemes produce cosmic strings after the last inflationary phase. Generically, as they form at the end of inflation, they have a mass of order of the GUT scale. Since cosmological data coming from CMB measurements do not show evidence for such strings, they constrain GUT scale physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Particle Creation in Pre-Big-Bang Cosmology: theory and observational consequences

We present some phenomenological aspects of the pre-big-bang cosmological model inspired by the duality properties of string theory. In particular, assuming the spatial sections of the homogeneous background geometry to be isotropic, we discuss the quantum production of perturbations of the background fields (gravitons, dilatons, moduli fields), as well as the production of particles which do not contribute to the background, which we call ``seeds''. As such we consider the cases of electromagnetic and axionic seeds. We also discuss their possible observational consequences, for example, we study whether they can provide the origin of primordial galactic magnetic fields, and whether they can generate the initial fluctuations leading to the formation of large-scale structure and the measured cosmic microwave background anisotropies. We finally analyze axion and photon production in four dimensional anisotropic pre-big-bang cosmological models.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Evidence against or for topological defects in the BOOMERanG data ?

The recently released BOOMERanG data was taken as ``contradicting topological defect predictions''. We show that such a statement is partly misleading. Indeed, the presence of a series of acoustic peaks is perfectly compatible with a non-negligible topological defects contribution. In such a mixed perturbation model (inflation and topological defects) for the source of primordial fluctuations, the natural prediction is a slightly lower amplitude for the Doppler peaks, a feature shared by many other purely inflationary models. Thus, for the moment, it seems difficult to rule out these models with the current data.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Massless (pseudo-)scalar seeds of CMB anisotropy

A primordial stochastic background of very weakly coupled massless (pseudo-)scalars can seed CMB anisotropy, when large-scale fluctuations of their stress-tensor re-enter the horizon during the matter-dominated era. A general relation between multipole coefficients of the CMB anisotropy and the seed's energy spectrum is derived. Magnitude and tilt of the observed anisotropies can be reproduced for the nearly scale-invariant axion spectra that are predicted in a particularly symmetric class of string cosmology backgrounds.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Seeds of large-scale anisotropy in string cosmology

Pre-big bang cosmology predicts tiny first-order dilaton and metric perturbations at very large scales. Here we discuss the possibility that other -- more copiously generated -- perturbations may act, at second order, as scalar seeds of large-scale structure and CMB anisotropies. We study, in particular, the cases of electromagnetic and axionic seeds. We compute the stochastic fluctuations of their energy-momentum tensor and determine the resulting contributions to the multipole expansion of the temperature anisotropy. In the axion case it is possible to obtain a flat or slightly tilted blue spectrum that fits present data consistently, both for massless and for massive (but very light) axions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1997

Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies from Scaling Seeds: Fit to Observational Data

We compute cosmic microwave background angular power spectra for scaling seed models of structure formation. A generic parameterization of the energy momentum tensor of the seeds is employed. We concentrate on two regions of parameter space inspired by global topological defects: O(4) texture models and the large-N limit of O(N) models. We use $χ^{2}$ fitting to compare these models to recent flat-band power measurements of the cosmic microwave background. Only scalar perturbations are considered.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1994

A new Contribution to Cosmological Perturbations of some Inflationary Models

We show that there are inflationary models for which perturbations in the energy momentum tensor, which are of second order in the scalar field, cannot be neglected. We first specify the conditions under which the usual first order perturbations are absent. We then analyze classically, the growth and decay of our new type of perturbations for one mode of fluctuations $\deϕ_k$ in the scalar field. We generalize this analysis, considering the contribution from the whole spectrum of $\deϕ$ to a given wavelength of geometrical perturbations. Finally, we discuss the evolution of the perturbations during the subsequent radiation dominated era and discuss the resulting spectrum of density fluctuations. In the case of a massless scalar field we find a spectral index $n=4$. For massive scalar fields we obtain $n=0$ but the resulting amplitude of fluctuations for inflation around a GUT scale are by far too high. Hence, 'conventional' inflationary models must not be influenced by this new type of perturbations, in order to lead to acceptable matter and CMB fluctuations.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1993

Gravitational Effects on Domain Walls with Curvature Correction

We derive the effective action for a domain wall with small thickness in curved spacetime and show that, apart from the Nambu term, it includes a contribution proportional to the induced curvature. We then use this action to study the dynamics of a spherical thick bubble of false vacuum (de Sitter) surrounded by an infinite region of true vacuum (Schwarzschild).

gr-qc↗

arXiv1993

Effects of friction on cosmic strings

We study the evolution of cosmic strings taking into account the frictional force due to the surrounding radiation. We consider small perturbations on straight strings, oscillation of circular loops and small perturbations on circular loops. For straight strings, friction exponentially suppresses perturbations whose co-moving scale crosses the horizon before cosmological time $t_*\sim μ^{-2}$ (in Planck units), where $μ$ is the string tension. Loops with size much smaller than $t_*$ will be approximately circular at the time when they start the relativistic collapse. We investigate the possibility that such loops will form black holes. We find that the number of black holes which are formed through this process is well bellow present observational limits, so this does not give any lower or upper bounds on $μ$. We also consider the case of straight strings attached to walls and circular holes that can spontaneously nucleate on metastable domain walls.

hep-th↗

arXiv1992

Semiclassical Effects and the Onset of Inflation

We present a class of exact solutions to the constraint equations of General Relativity coupled to a Klein - Gordon field, these solutions being isotropic but not homogeneous. We analyze the subsequent evolution of the consistent Cauchy data represented by those solutions, showing that only certain special initial conditions eventually lead to successfull Inflationary cosmologies. We argue, however, that these initial conditions are precisely the likely outcomes of quantum events occurred before the inflationary era.

gr-qc↗