Related papers: Axion Miniclusters in Modified Cosmological Histor…
We study the cosmology of the dark sector consisting of (ultra) light scalars. Since the scalar mass is radiatively unstable, a special explanation is required to make the mass much smaller than the UV scale. There are two well-known…
In a recent paper we pointed out that supermassive black holes, with masses ranging from $10^5$ to $10^{10} M_\odot$ form naturally at cosmic dawn if the dark matter is QCD axions or axion-like particles with mass $m > 10^{-16}\,…
Motivated by the SU(2)$_{\rm CMB}$ modification of the cosmological model $\Lambda$CDM, we consider isolated fuzzy-dark-matter lumps, made of ultralight axion particles whose masses arise due to distinct SU(2) Yang-Mills scales and the…
Understanding axion production in the early Universe remains a pivotal challenge, given the axion as a compelling cold dark matter candidate. Conventional misalignment scenarios often overlook the possibility that a large initial axion…
Axions and other very light axion-like particles appear in many extensions of the Standard Model, and are leading candidates to compose part or all of the missing matter of the Universe. They also appear in models of inflation, dark…
A zero initial velocity of the axion field is assumed in the conventional misalignment mechanism. We propose an alternative scenario where the initial velocity is nonzero, which may arise from an explicit breaking of the PQ symmetry in the…
We propose a new theory of dark matter based on axion physics and cosmological phase transitions. We show that theories in which a gauge coupling increases through a first-order phase transition naturally result in `axion relic pockets':…
Axions constitute a well-motivated dark matter candidate, and if PQ symmetry breaking occurred after inflation, it should be possible to make a clean prediction for the relation between the axion mass and the axion dark matter density. We…
Cosmological structure formation simulations of ultralight axion-like dark matter have shown that an axion star forms at the center of every dark matter halo in the Universe. These axion stars would then form in large numbers during the…
String scenarios generically predict that we live in a so called axiverse: the Universe with about a hundred of light axion species which are decoupled from the Standard Model particles. However, the axions can couple to the inflaton which…
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…
The QCD axion is a good dark matter candidate. The observed dark matter abundance can arise from misalignment or defect mechanisms, which generically require an axion decay constant $f_a \sim \mathcal{O}(10^{11})$ GeV (or higher). We…
In the QCD axion scenario, a network of domain walls bounded by cosmic strings fragments into pieces. As these fragments collapse, some of them will form black holes. With standard QCD axion parameters, the black holes will have lunar…
Axions and axion-like particles are ubiquitous in extensions of the Standard Model and offer a unifying framework for addressing open problems in cosmology. Depending on their mass and interactions, axions can act as dark matter, drive…
The formation of structure in the Universe offers some of the most powerful evidence in favour of the existence of dark matter in the Universe. We summarize recent work by ourselves and our collaborators, using linear and quasi-linear…
We identify 31 dimensionless physical constants required by particle physics and cosmology, and emphasize that both microphysical constraints and selection effects might help elucidate their origin. Axion cosmology provides an instructive…
Despite stringent constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations, it is still possible for well-motivated particle physics models to substantially alter the cosmic expansion history…
Several scenarios have been proposed in which primordial perturbations could originate from quantum vacuum fluctuations in a phase corresponding to a collapse phase (in an Einstein frame) preceding the Big Bang. I briefly review three…
Recently there has been interest in the physical properties of dark matter axion condensates. Due to gravitational attraction and self-interactions, they can organize into spatial localized clumps, whose properties were examined by us in…
Axion-CMB scenario is an interesting possibility to explain the temperature anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by primordial fluctuations of the QCD axion \cite{Iso:2020pzv}. In this scenario, fluctuations of radiations are…