Topological Defects and Structure Formation

Abstract

Topological defects are produced during phase transitions in the very early Universe. They arise in most unified theories of strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions. These lectures focus on the role of topological defects in cosmology, with particular emphasis on the models of structure formation based on defects. The role of topological defects in baryogenesis is also reviewed.

Comments: 93 pages, 34 figures (NOT INCLUDED, available from the author), based on a Troisieme Cycle lecture series given at the EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, 4/22-5/13 1993, uses phyzzx, Brown Univ. preprint BROWN-HET-906