Formation and Interactions of Topological Defects : Proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute on Formation and Interactions of Topological Defects, Held August 22–September 2, 1994, in Cambridge, England

Topological defects have recently become of great interest in condensed matter physics, particle physics and cosmology. They are the unavoidable remnants of many symmetry breaking phase transitions. Topological defects can play an important role in describing the properties of many condensed matter systems (e.g. superfluids and superconduc­ tors); they can catalyze many unusual effects in particle physics models and they may be responsible for seeding the density perturbations in the early Universe which de­ velop into galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe. Topological defects are also of great interest in mathematics as nontrivial solutions of nonlinear differential equations stabilized by topological effects. The purpose of the Advanced Study Institute "Formation and Interactions of Topo­ logical Defects" was to bring together students and practitioners in condensed matter physics, particle physics and cosmology, to give a detailed exposition of the role of topo­ logical defects in these fields; to explore similarities and differences in the approaches; and to provide a common basis for discussion and future collaborative research on common problems. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Phase Transitions in the Early Universe and Defect Formation....Pages 1-26 The Topological Classification of Defects....Pages 27-61 Introduction to Growth Kinetics Problems....Pages 63-92 Dynamics of Cosmological phase transitions: What can we learn from condensed matter physics?....Pages 93-104 Topological Defects and Phase Ordering Dynamics....Pages 105-138 The Production of Strings And Monopoles at Phase Transitions....Pages 139-182 Geometry of Defect Scattering....Pages 183-199 Theory of Fluctuating Nonholonomic Fields and Applications: Statistical Mechanics of Vortices and Defects and New Physical Laws in Spaces with Curvature and Torsion....Pages 201-232 String Network Evolution....Pages 233-254 Global Field Dynamics and Cosmological Structure Formation....Pages 255-281 Electroweak Baryogenesis....Pages 283-301 Dynamics of Cosmic Strings and Other Brane Models....Pages 303-348 Cosmological Experiments in Superfluids and Superconductors....Pages 349-378 Cosmological Experiments in Liquid 4 He - Problems and Prospects....Pages 379-387 Back Matter....Pages 389-397 Proceedings of a NATO ASI held in Cambridge, England, August 22-September 2, 1994