Related papers: The dark-matter axion mass
The post-inflationary Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry breaking scenario provides a unique opportunity to pinpoint the QCD axion dark matter mass, which is a crucial input for laboratory experiments that are designed for probing specific mass…
Axions arise in many theoretical extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular the "string axiverse". If the axion masses, $m_a$, and (effective) decay constants, $f_a$, lie in specific ranges, then axions contribute…
Axions have for some time been considered a plausible candidate for dark matter. They can be produced through misalignment, but it has been argued that when inflation occurs before a Peccei-Quinn transition, appreciable production can…
A compelling production mechanism for QCD axion dark matter is from the scaling dynamics of early universe axion strings. We show that in DFSZ-like models containing tree-level interactions between fermions and the axion, friction between…
We study the contribution to the QCD axion dark matter abundance that is produced by string defects during the so-called scaling regime. Clear evidence of scaling violations is found, the most conservative extrapolation of which strongly…
We propose a scenario where the saxion dominates the energy density of the Universe and reheats the standard model sector via the dilatonic coupling, while its axionic partner contributes to dark matter decaying into photons via the same…
The QCD axion may offer a unified origin for the baryon asymmetry and dark matter through axiogenesis. However, in the minimal QCD axion scenario, axiogenesis either underproduces baryons or overproduces dark matter, and the required…
Laboratory experiments have the capacity to detect the QCD axion in the next decade, and precisely measure its mass, if it composes the majority of the dark matter. In type IIB string theory on Calabi-Yau threefolds in the geometric regime,…
Despite growing interest and extensive effort to search for ultralight dark matter in the form of a hypothetical dark photon, how it fits into a consistent cosmology is unclear. Several dark photon dark matter production mechanisms proposed…
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…
Two of the most pressing questions in physics are the microscopic nature of the dark matter that comprises 84% of the mass in the universe and the absence of a neutron electric dipole moment. These questions would be resolved by the…
The dark dimension scenario, which is motivated from Swampland principles and predicts a single micron scale extra dimension, suggests a consistent framework for the dark sector of the universe. We consider the implications of this scenario…
Axion-like particles are promising candidates to make up the dark matter of the universe, but it is challenging to design experiments that can detect them over their entire allowed mass range. Dark matter in general, and in particular…
We review results from QCD axion string and domain wall simulations and propagate the associated uncertainties, including QCD uncertainties, into the calculation of the axion relic density. We compare two different sets of studies and,…
Dark photons could be produced resonantly by the oscillating axion field in the early universe. This resonant production mechanism has been used in various contexts, including dark photon dark matter and primordial magnetic field…
The QCD axion offers a natural resolution to the strong CP problem and provides a compelling dark matter candidate. If the QCD axion constitutes all the dark matter, the simplest models pick out a narrow range of masses around $100\,\mu{\rm…
Recently it has been proposed that dark matter axions from the galactic halo can produce a small Shapiro step-like signal in Josephson junctions whose Josephson frequency resonates with the axion mass [C. Beck, PRL 111, 231801 (2013)]. Here…
The string axion may provide the most attractive solution to the strong CP problem in QCD. However, the axion energy density easily exceeds the dark matter density in the present universe due to a large decay constant around $10^{16}$ GeV,…
The QCD axion stands as one of the most promising candidates for resolving the strong CP problem. However, the value of the axion's decay constant $f_a$ and, by extension, its mass $m_a$, remain uncertain within the framework of effective…
It is widely believed that string theory easily allows for a QCD axion in the cosmologically favoured mass range. The required small decay constant, $f_a\ll M_P$, can be implemented by using a large compactification volume. This points to…