Production and detection of relic dilatons in string cosmology

This paper summarizes the contribution presented at the {\sl IX Marcel Grossmann Meeting} (Rome, July 2000). It is stressed, in particular, that a non-relativistic background of ultra-light dilatons, produced in the context of string cosmology, could represent today a significant fraction of cold dark matter. If the dilaton mass lies within the resonant band of present gravitational antennas, a stochastic dilaton background with a nearly critical density could be visible, in principle, already at the level of sensitivity of the detectors in operation and presently under construction.