Related papers: Gravity, Superselection Rules and Axions
The topological susceptibility of the QCD vacuum provides an understanding of $\theta$-vacua as vacua of a Chern-Simons gauge theory. In this way, it gives an immediate proof of the physicality of the boundary $\theta$-term. This makes the…
Conventionally, the strong-$CP$ problem is assumed to be a naturalness puzzle, with the axion solution sometimes viewed as an ad hoc fix. Gravity is either ignored or taken as a threat for the global Peccei-Quinn symmetry. We explain that…
On the basis of allowed local gauge symmetries, the QCD Lagrangian admits a CP-violating term proportional to the topological charge density, commonly referred to as the $\theta$ term. A priori, any value of $\theta$ is consistent with the…
Invoking the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) solution to the strong CP problem substitutes the puzzle of why $\theta_{qcd}$ is so small with the puzzle of why the PQ symmetry is of such high quality. Cosmological and astrophysical considerations raise…
A totally asymptotically free QCD axion model, where all couplings flow to zero in the infinite energy limit, was recently formulated. A very interesting feature of this fundamental theory is the ability to predict some low-energy…
I describe how the QCD vacuum structure, necessary to resolve the $U(1)_A$ problem, predicts the presence of a P, T and CP violating term proportional to the vacuum angle $\bar{\theta}$. To agree with experimental bounds, however, this…
The model independent axion of string theory has a decay constant of order of the Planck scale. We explore the properties of this quintessence candidate (quintaxion) in the scheme of hidden sector supergravity breakdown. In models allowing…
In the context of $\mathcal{N}=2$ supergravity without vector multiplets coupled to hypermultiplets, the coupling constant of graviphoton $\tau$ is apriori a free parameter. Stringy realization of this and using a mathematical conjecture…
We emphasize that a specific aspect of quantum gravity is the absence of a super-selection rule that prevents a linear superposition of different gravitational charges. As an immediate consequence, we obtain a tiny, but observable,…
Any canonical quantum theory can be understood to arise from the compatibility of the statistical geometry of distinguishable observations with the canonical Poisson structure of Hamiltonian dynamics. This geometric perspective offers a…
We show that the de Sitter quantum breaking bound when applied to QCD exposes the necessity of the axion solution to the strong CP problem. The Peccei-Quinn mechanism emerges as a consistency requirement independent of the naturalness…
Similar to QCD, general relativity has a $\Theta$ sector due to large diffeomorphisms. We make explicit, for the first time, that the gravitational CP violating $\Theta$ parameter is non-perturbatively related to the cosmological constant.…
Gravity can give rise to (pseudo)scalar fields, for instance due to torsion. In particular, axions of gravitational origin have been proposed as a minimal and compelling solution to the strong CP problem. In this work, we critically examine…
We consider some questions of naturalness which arise when one considers conventional field theories in the presence of gravitation: the problem of global symmetries, the strong CP problem, and the cosmological constant problem. Using…
Embedding hidden sector supergravity models in the framework of string theory leads to the appearance of axion-like degrees of freedom. Among them is the model independent axion of heterotic string theory. It has a decay constant of order…
One of the main technical obstacles in constructing a consistent theory of quantum gravity is that the metric itself defines the causal structure required for quantization. This motivates implementing quantum aspects of gravity through an…
Common features of known quantum gravity theories may hint at the general nature of quantum gravity. The absence of continuous global symmetries is one such feature. This inspired the Weak Gravity Conjecture, which bounds masses of charged…
These lectures discuss the $\theta$ parameter of QCD. After an introduction to anomalies in four and two dimensions, the parameter is introduced. That such topological parameters can have physical effects is illustrated with two dimensional…
We address the strong CP problem: why the physical QCD angle theta-bar must be extraordinarily small given the stringent bounds on the neutron electric dipole moment. Peccei-Quinn axion models can relax theta-bar dynamically, but rely on an…
We consider the axion arising from five-dimensional supergravity in the presence of boundaries. We find the approximate bosonic effective action to estimate the lower bound on the "Peccei-Quinn" energy scale with a flat bulk. With a warped…