Related papers: Axion cold dark matter revisited
Incorporating the QCD axion and simultaneously satisfying current constraints on the dark matter density and isocurvature fluctuations requires non-minimal fine-tuning of inflationary parameters or the axion misalignment angle (or both) for…
The Peccei-Quinn anomalous global U(1)_{PQ} symmetry is important not only for solving the strong CP problem with a cosmologically relevant axion, but it may also be the origin of a residual Z_2 symmetry. This new symmetry may be…
We study in detail a supersymmetric Peccei-Quinn model, which has a DFSZ and a KSVZ version. The fields breaking the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry correspond to flat directions (flaton fields) and have unsuppressed couplings when PQ symmetry…
Observable primordial tensor modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) would point to a high scale of inflation $H_{I}$. If the scale of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) breaking $f_a$ is greater than $\frac{H_{I}}{2\pi}$, CMB constraints on…
The recent observations imply that there is an extra relativistic degree of freedom coined dark radiation. We argue that the QCD axion is a plausible candidate for the dark radiation, not only because of its extremely small mass, but also…
Axions in the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) mechanism provide a promising solution to the strong CP problem in the standard model of particle physics. Coherently generated PQ scalar fields could dominate the energy density in the early Universe and…
We revisit the domain wall problem for QCD axion models with more than one quark charged under the Peccei-Quinn symmetry. Symmetry breaking during or after inflation results in the formation of a domain wall network which would cause cosmic…
We propose a simple extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model by introducing a gauge singlet in addition to right-handed neutrinos. The model resolves the strong CP problem by Pecci-Quinn symmetry, explains the origin of…
We evaluate the efficiency of axion production from spatially random initial conditions in the axion field, so a network of axionic strings is present. For the first time, we perform numerical simulations which fully account for the large…
Dark matter could be a thermal relic comprised of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs), where $3 \rightarrow 2$ interactions set the relic abundance. Such interactions generically arise in theories of chiral symmetry breaking via…
We compare conventional non-minimally coupled Peccei-Quinn (PQ) inflation with a version of the model in which unitarity conservation is imposed by additional Jordan frame interactions. Assuming instantaneous reheating, the…
If dark matter is made of QCD axions, its abundance is determined by the vacuum expectation value acquired by the axion field during inflation. The axion is usually assumed to follow the equilibrium distribution arising from quantum…
We propose simple scenarios where the observed dark matter abundance arises from decays and scatterings of heavy quarks through freeze-in of an axion-like particle with mass in the $10 {\rm \, keV} - 1 {\rm \, MeV}$ range. These models can…
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) and axions are arguably the most compelling dark matter candidates in the literature. Could they coexist as dark matter particles? More importantly, can they be incorporated in a well motivated…
We examine the theoretical possibility for the heavy QCD axion to induce slow-roll inflation while solving the strong CP problem through the Peccei-Quinn mechanism. If the cancellation between contributions from a small-size instanton and…
We survey observational constraints on the parameter space of inflation and axions and map out two allowed windows: the classic window and the inflationary anthropic window. The cosmology of the latter is particularly interesting;…
We propose two models where a U(1) Peccei-Quinn global symmetry arises accidentally and is respected up to high-dimensional operators, so that the axion solution to the strong CP problem is successful even in the presence of…
We assume that dark matter is comprised of axion-like particles (ALPs) generated by the realignment mechanism in the post-inflationary scenario. This leads to isocurvature fluctuations with an amplitude of order one for scales comparable to…
The axion field, the angular direction of the complex scalar field associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry, could have originated with initial non-zero velocity. The presence of a non-zero angular…
We review the status of axino dark matter. Two hierarchy problems, the strong CP problem and the gauge hierarchy problem, have led to introducing into particle physics a spontaneously broken global Peccei-Quinn symmetry and a softly broken…