Related papers: The Weak Scale from BBN
Beyond the Standard Model physics is required to explain both dark matter and the baryon asymmetry of the universe, the latter possibly generated during a strong first-order electroweak phase transition. While many proposed models tackle…
After the observation in 2012 of a new scalar particle closely resembling the Higgs boson of the Standard Model of particle physics, there is a general consensus that there must be Physics Beyond the Standard Model, with present experiments…
We consider heavy sterile neutrinos $\nu_s$, with mass in the range 10 MeV $\lesssim m_s \lesssim m_{\pi} \sim 135$ MeV, thermally produced in the early universe and freezing out after the QCD phase transition. The existence of these…
A wide range of large scale observations hint towards possible modifications on the standard cosmological model which is based on a homogeneous and isotropic universe with a small cosmological constant and matter. These observations, also…
Scalar dark matter can interact with Standard Model (SM) particles, altering the fundamental constants of Nature in the process. Changes in the fundamental constants during and prior to Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) produce changes in the…
We discuss the entropy and the size/homogeneity/horizon problems in power-law expanding universes with one scale initial conditions. We set the minimal scale $\Lambda = 10^{25}$ GeV at which a non-inflationary solution is possible and show…
Dynamical scanning of the Higgs mass by an axion-like particle during inflation may provide a cosmological component to explaining part of the hierarchy problem. We propose a novel interplay of this cosmological relaxation mechanism with…
Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis at the baryon density determined by the microwave anisotropy spectrum predicts an excess of \li7 compared to observations by a factor of 4-5. In contrast, BBN predictions for D/H are somewhat below (but…
We consider the minimal Standard Model as an effective low-energy description of an unspecified fundamental theory with spontaneously broken conformal symmetry. The effective theory exhibits classical scale invariance which manifest itself…
The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have pushed the limits on masses of supersymmetric particles beyond the $\sim$TeV scale. This compromises naturalness of the simplest supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model, the…
Big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory, together with the precise WMAP cosmic baryon density, makes tight predictions for the abundances of the lightest elements. Deuterium and 4He measurements agree well with expectations, but 7Li…
For a brief time in its early evolution the Universe was a cosmic nuclear reactor. The expansion and cooling of the Universe limited this epoch to the first few minutes, allowing time for the synthesis in astrophysically interesting…
Motivated by LHC results, we modify the usual criterion for naturalness by ignoring the uncomputable power divergences. The Standard Model satisfies the modified criterion ('finite naturalness') for the measured values of its parameters.…
Many physical theories beyond the Standard Model predict time variations of basic physics parameters. Direct measurement of the time variations of these parameters is very difficult or impossible to achieve. By contrast, measurements of…
For decades, the unnaturalness of the weak scale has been the dominant problem motivating new particle physics, and weak-scale supersymmetry has been the dominant proposed solution. This paradigm is now being challenged by a wealth of…
Axion-like particles with masses in the keV-GeV range have a profound impact on the cosmological evolution of our Universe, in particular on the abundance of light elements produced during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. The resulting limits are…
This paper derives an upper limit on the density $\rho_{\scriptstyle\Lambda}$ of dark energy based on the requirement that cosmological structure forms before being frozen out by the eventual acceleration of the universe. By allowing for…
The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics provides a very successful description of fundamental particles and their interactions but it is incomplete, as neutrino masses, dark matter and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe indicate. In…
Primordial nucleosynthesis is one of the three historical evidences for the big bang model, together with the expansion of the universe and the cosmic microwave background. Now that the number of neutrino families and the baryonic densities…
Axion-like scalar fields can induce temporary deviations from the standard expansion history of the universe. The scalar field's contribution to the energy density of the universe grows while the field is held constant by Hubble friction,…