ABSTRACT

This book is a comprehensive survey of the current state of knowledge about the dynamics and gravitational properties of cosmic strings treated in the idealized classical approximation as line singularities described by the Nambu-Goto action. The author's purpose is to provide a standard reference to all work that has been published since the mid-1

chapter 1|34 pages

Cosmic strings and broken gauge symmetries

chapter 2|24 pages

The elements of string dynamics

chapter 3|40 pages

String dynamics in flat space

chapter 4|45 pages

A bestiary of exact solutions

chapter 5|37 pages

String dynamics in non-flat backgrounds

chapter 9|46 pages

Other exact string metrics