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In cosmology, a topological defect is a discontinuity in space. Some theories expect the formation of such defects during the early universe's symmetry breaking that divided earlier, more general forces into the currently known specific forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force. Such defects are classified as follows:
When the cosmic microwave background (CMB) cold spot was identified, one theory was that it was a sign of a texture.
The term topological defect has other uses in mathematics and physics: the structure of space given cosmology theory is merely one area that uses the branch of mathematics termed topology, and within which defects can be conceived. For example, topology can be used to model the atomic structure of crystals, with some types of anomalies modeled as topological defects.