In the decoupling limit, the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model reduces to the theory of a scalar field π, with interactions including a specific cubic self-interaction-the Galileon term. This term, and its quartic and quintic generalizations, can be thought of as arising from a probe 3-brane in a five-dimensional bulk with Lovelock terms on the brane and in the bulk.We study multifield generalizations of the Galileon and extend this probe-brane view to higher codimensions. We derive an extremely restrictive theory of multiple Galileon fields, interacting through a quartic term controlled by a single coupling, and trace its origin to the induced brane terms coming from Lovelock invariants in the higher codimension bulk. We explore some properties of this theory, finding de Sitter like self-accelerating solutions. These solutions have ghosts if and only if the flat space theory does not have ghosts. Finally, we prove a general nonrenormalization theorem: multifield Galileons are not renormalized quantum mechanically to any loop in perturbation theory. In the decoupling limit, the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model reduces to the theory of a scalar field , with interactions including a specific cubic self-interaction-the Galileon term. This term, and its quartic and quintic generalizations, can be thought of as arising from a probe 3-brane in a five-dimensional bulk with Lovelock terms on the brane and in the bulk. We study multifield generalizations of the Galileon and extend this probe-brane view to higher codimensions. We derive an extremely restrictive theory of multiple Galileon fields, interacting through a quartic term controlled by a single coupling, and trace its origin to the induced brane terms coming from Lovelock invariants in the higher codimension bulk. We explore some properties of this theory, finding de Sitter like self-accelerating solutions. These solutions have ghosts if and only if the flat space theory does not have ghosts. Finally, we prove a general nonrenormalization theorem: multifield Galileons are not renormalized quantum mechanically to any loop in perturbation theory. Disciplines Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics

We consider cosmological models with a scalar field with equation of state w ≥ 1 that contract towards a big crunch singularity, as in recent cyclic and ekpyrotic scenarios. We show that chaotic mixmaster oscillations due to anisotropy and curvature are suppressed, and the contraction is described by a homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann equation if w > 1. We generalize the results to theories where the scalar field couples to p-forms and show that there exists a finite value of w, depending on the p-forms, such that chaotic oscillations are suppressed. We show that Z 2 orbifold compactification also contributes to suppressing chaotic behavior. In particular, chaos is avoided in contracting heterotic M -theory models if w > 1 at the crunch.

Abstract. We compute the scalar gravitational radiation from a binary pulsar system in the simplest model that exhibits the Vainshtein mechanism. The mechanism is successful in screening the effect from scalar fields conformally coupled to matter, although gravitational radiation is less suppressed relative to its general relativity predictions than static fifth forces effects within the pulsar system. This is due to a combination of two effects: firstly the existence of monopole and dipole radiation; secondly the Vainshtein suppression comes from the hierarchy of scales between the inverse frequency scale and the Vainshtein radius, rather than the orbital radius of the pulsar system. Extensions of these results will have direct relevance to infrared modifications of gravity, such as massive gravity theories, which are known to exhibit a Vainshtein mechanism. Generalization to Galileon models with higher order interactions are likely to provide stronger constraints.

We study k-defects-topological defects in theories with more than two derivatives and second-order equations of motion-and describe some striking ways in which these defects both resemble and differ from their analogues in canonical scalar field theories. We show that, for some models, the homotopy structure of the vacuum manifold is insufficient to establish the existence of k-defects, in contrast to the canonical case. These results also constrain certain families of Dirac-Born-Infeld instanton solutions in the 4-dimensional effective theory. We then describe a class of k-defect solutions, which we dub ''doppelgängers,'' that precisely match the field profile and energy density of their canonical scalar field theory counterparts. We give a complete characterization of Lagrangians which admit doppelgänger domain walls. By numerically computing the fluctuation eigenmodes about domain wall solutions, we find different spectra for doppelgängers and canonical walls, allowing us to distinguish between k-defects and the canonical walls they mimic. We search for doppelgängers for cosmic strings by numerically constructing solutions of Dirac-Born-Infeld and canonical scalar field theories. Despite investigating several examples, we are unable to find doppelgänger cosmic strings, hence the existence of doppelgängers for defects with codimension >1 remains an open question. We study k-defects-topological defects in theories with more than two derivatives and second-order equations of motion-and describe some striking ways in which these defects both resemble and differ from their analogues in canonical scalar field theories. We show that, for some models, the homotopy structure of the vacuum manifold is insufficient to establish the existence of k-defects, in contrast to the canonical case. These results also constrain certain families of Dirac-Born-Infeld instanton solutions in the 4-dimensional effective theory. We then describe a class of k-defect solutions, which we dub ''doppelgängers,'' that precisely match the field profile and energy density of their canonical scalar field theory counterparts. We give a complete characterization of Lagrangians which admit doppelgänger domain walls. By numerically computing the fluctuation eigenmodes about domain wall solutions, we find different spectra for doppelgängers and canonical walls, allowing us to distinguish between k-defects and the canonical walls they mimic. We search for doppelgängers for cosmic strings by numerically constructing solutions of Dirac-Born-Infeld and canonical scalar field theories. Despite investigating several examples, we are unable to find doppelgänger cosmic strings, hence the existence of doppelgängers for defects with codimension >1 remains an open question. Disciplines Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics

We present a novel method for calculating the primordial non-Gaussianity produced by super-horizon evolution during inflation. Our method evolves the distribution of coarse-grained inflationary field values using a transport equation. We present simple evolution equations for the moments of this distribution, such as the variance and skewness. This method possesses some advantages over existing techniques. Among them, it cleanly separates multiple sources of primordial non-Gaussianity, and is computationally efficient when compared with popular alternatives, such as the δN framework. We adduce numerical calculations demonstrating that our new method offers good agreement with those already in the literature. We focus on two fields and the f NL parameter, but we expect our method will generalize to multiple scalar fields and to moments of arbitrarily high order. We present our expressions in a field-space covariant form which we postulate to be valid for any number of fields.