English

Cosmic Simulations of Axion String-Wall Networks: Probing Dark Matter and Gravitational Waves for Discovery

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics 2024-10-11 v2 High Energy Physics - Lattice High Energy Physics - Phenomenology

Abstract

We simultaneously study gravitational waves (GWs) and free axions emitted from axionic string-wall networks in the early universe using advanced 3D lattice simulations. Our simulations start before the Peccei-Quinn phase transition and end with the destruction of string-wall networks below the QCD scale. The axion dark matter (DM) relic abundance radiated from string-wall networks are updated and refined for the scenarios of NDW>1N_{\rm DW}>1. In this scenario, we observe that the GW spectrum is almost independent of the bias term and NDWN_{\rm DW}, and ΩGWh2f1.29(f0.43)\Omega_{\rm GW}h^2\propto f^{1.29}(f^{-0.43}) in the IR and middle-frequency regions. After considering the constraints from DM relic abundance, we found that the QCD axion model predicts undetectable GW emissions, and the axion-like particles model allows for a detectable GW signal in the nano-Hertz to the milli-Hertz frequency range corresponding to axion masses range from KeV to TeV. For NDW=1N_{\rm DW}=1, the GW energy density appears undetectable for QCD axions and axion-like particles.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2311.02011,
  title  = {Cosmic Simulations of Axion String-Wall Networks: Probing Dark Matter and Gravitational Waves for Discovery},
  author = {Yang Li and Ligong Bian and Rong-Gen Cai and Jing Shu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.02011},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

7+13 pages; cosmic simulations on axion dark matter are added