Related papers: Opening up the QCD axion window
Axions are some of the best motivated particles beyond the Standard Model. We show how the attractive self-interactions of dark matter (DM) axions over a broad range of masses, from $10^{-22}$ eV to $10^7$ GeV, can lead to nongravitational…
We propose a model for the QCD axion which is realized through a coupling of the Peccei-Quinn scalar field to magnetically charged fermions at high energies. We show that the axion of this model solves the strong CP problem and then…
Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interactions within the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains more than 99% of the mass of the visible Universe. However, there is evidence that a substantial portion of…
Axion is one of the most popular candidates of the cosmological dark matter. Recent studies considering the misalignment production of axions suggest some benchmark axion mass ranges near $m_a \sim 20$ $\mu$eV. For such axion mass, the…
We argue that coherent oscillations of the axion field excited by the misalignment mechanism and non-thermal leptogenesis by the saxion decay can naturally explain the observed abundance of dark matter and baryon asymmetry, thus providing a…
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…
I present the first constraints on QCD axion dark matter using measurements from the James Webb Space Telescope. By utilizing publicly available MIRI and NIRSpec blank-sky observations, originally collected for sky subtraction purposes, I…
The properties of axions that constitute 100% of cold dark matter (CDM) depend on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ at the end of inflation. If $r=0.20^{+0.07}_{-0.05}$ as reported by the BICEP2 collaboration, then "half" of the CDM axion…
Sterile neutrinos can be generated in the early universe through oscillations with active neutrinos and represent a popular and well-studied candidate for our universe's dark matter. Stringent constraints from X-ray and gamma-ray line…
We consider the production of axion dark matter through the misalignment mechanism in the context of a nonstandard cosmological history involving early matter domination by a scalar field with a time-dependent decay rate. In cases where the…
The QCD axion is widely studied as a dark matter (DM) candidate and as a solution to the strong CP problem of the Standard Model. In conventional field-theoretic models, a much larger mass scale than the electroweak (EW) scale is typically…
We report that the hypothesis that the upper bound on the axion decay constant can be moved up beyond $10^{12}$ GeV in models with a stronger QCD in the early universe is not realized. This proof is possible by studying the superpotential…
The serious cosmological problems created by the axion-string/axion-domain-wall system in standard axion models are alleviated by positing the existence of a new confining force. The instantons of this force can generate an axion potential…
Generating axion dark matter through the kinetic misalignment mechanism implies the generation of large asymmetries for Standard Model fermions in the early universe. Even if these asymmetries are washed out at later times, they can trigger…
The relic density of dark matter in the $\Lambda$CDM model restricts the parameter space for a cosmological axion field, constraining the axion decay constant, the initial amplitude of the axion field and the axion mass. It is shown via…
We propose a new scenario of early dark energy (EDE) with a dark Higgs trapped at the origin. To keep this dark Higgs trapped until around the matter-radiation equality, we use dark photons produced non-thermally by coherent oscillations of…
The QCD axion is a promising candidate of the dark matter. In this paper, we discuss elastic scattering processes between nucleons and the QCD axion dark matter. We point out that the cross section can be enhanced by more than…
We study axion dark matter production from a misalignment mechanism in scenarios featuring a general nonstandard cosmology. Before the onset of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the energy density of the universe is dominated by a particle field…
We examine in the context of supersymmetric models whether the usual cosmological upper bound on the axion decay constant can be relaxed by assuming a period of stronger QCD in the early universe. By evaluating the axion potential in the…
We explore the interplay of the post-inflationary QCD axion and a light scalar field for the axion domain wall decay and dark matter (DM). The scalar field possesses a nonzero vacuum expectation value (VEV) during inflation, so that its…