Related papers: On the high-scale instanton interference effect: a…
The post-inflationary breaking of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry can lead to the cosmic domain wall catastrophe. In this Letter we show how to avoid domain walls implementing the Instanton Interference Effect (IIE) with a new interaction which…
The QCD axion needs not be an exact pseudoscalar for solving the strong CP problem. Its imperfectness can play a profound role cosmologically. We propose effective operators, where the Peccei-Quinn field linearly couples to Standard Model…
We propose an efficient mechanism to realize an invisible axion from a low scale Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking. Our basic model only contains a gauge boson, an up-type vector-like quark, two Higgs doublets and two Higgs singlets besides…
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…
We show that charged Eguchi-Hanson instantons provide a concrete and calculable new source of intrinsic Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking by quantum gravity. The size of this breaking is shown to depend sensitively on the short distance…
We derive the necessary conditions to build a class of invisible axion models with Flavor Changing Neutral Currents at tree-level controlled by the fermion mixing matrices and present an explicit model implementation. A horizontal…
QCD in a five-dimensional sliced bulk with chiral extra-quarks on the boundaries is generically free from the strong CP problem. Accidental axial symmetry is naturally present except for suppressed breaking interactions, which plays a role…
Composite axions offer a scenario where the axion emerges as a pion-like state, avoiding fine-tuning of elementary scalars and ameliorating the axion quality problem. Despite these advantages, their post-inflationary cosmology remains…
This paper investigates the impact of small instanton effects on the axion mass in composite axion models. In particular, we focus on the Composite Accidental Axion (CAA) models, which are designed to address the axion quality problem, 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 two novel solutions to the domain wall problem of the QCD axion by introducing a massless or light axion that also couples to gluons. The first solution applies when the new axion forms strings after inflation. Due to its mixing…
Murayama proposed a GeV-scale axion theory where the up-quark mass term is generated dynamically by the QCD chiral condensate, spontaneously breaking a Peccei-Quinn symmetry. It predicts a too large mass splitting between neutral and…
By introducing local $Z_N$ symmetries with $N=11,13$ in two 3-3-1 models, it is possible to implement an automatic Peccei-Quinn symmetry, keeping the axion protected against gravitational effects at the same time. Both models have a $Z_2$…
We present a model that solves the strong CP problem via an axion parametrically heavier than the standard one. Within this picture the Standard Model quarks are embedded into a larger non-abelian Grand Color group that at high scales…
Although QCD axion models are widely studied as solutions to the strong CP problem, they generically confront severe fine-tuning problems to guarantee the anomalous PQ symmetry. In this letter, we propose a simple QCD axion model without…
We present several models where the QCD axion arises accidentally. Confining gauge theories can generate axion candidates whose properties are uniquely determined by the quantum numbers of the new fermions under the Standard Model. The…
We investigate a cosmological scenario in which the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry remains broken in the entire history of the Universe, thereby avoiding the formation of axion strings and domain walls. Contrary to the conventional expectation,…
We study an interacting ensemble of instantons at finite baryon chemical potential. We emphasize the importance of fermionic zero modes and calculate the fermion induced interaction between instantons at non-zero chemical potential. We show…
We suggest an anomalous effective Lagrangian which reproduces the anomalous conformal and chiral Ward identities and topological charge quantization in QCD. It is shown that the large N_c Di Vecchia-Veneziano-Witten effective chiral…
We build a class of invisible axion models with tree-level Flavor Changing Neutral Currents completely controlled by the fermion mixing matrices. The scalar sector of these models contains three-Higgs doublets and a complex scalar gauge…