The role of domain wall junctions in Carter's pentahedral model

TL;DR

This paper investigates the structure and stability of domain wall junctions in Carter's pentahedral model through analytical and numerical methods, revealing conditions for stable lattice configurations and implications for cosmology.

Contribution

It provides the first field theory simulations of Carter's model with various initial conditions, identifying stable square lattice configurations and demonstrating realistic networks with Y-type junctions.

Findings

Stable square lattice configurations with X-type junctions identified.

Realistic initial conditions lead to scaling networks with Y-type junctions.

Implications for dark energy and cosmological models discussed.

Abstract

The role of domain wall junctions in Carter's pentahedral model is investigated both analytically and numerically. We perform, for the first time, field theory simulations of such model with various initial conditions. We confirm that there are very specific realizations of Carter's model corresponding to square lattice configurations with X-type junctions which could be stable. However, we show that more realistic realizations, consistent with causality constraints, do lead to a scaling domain wall network with Y-type junctions. We determine the network properties and discuss the corresponding cosmological implications, in particular for dark energy.