Related papers: Gravitational Waves from Fundamental Axion Dynamic…
We propose a novel gravitational wave production mechanism in the context of quasi-conformal Standard Model extensions, which provide a way to dynamically generate the electroweak scale. In these models, the cosmic thermal history is…
It is generally accepted that consistent coupling to quantum gravity implies that any low energy free parameter is in reality the vacuum expectation value of some local quantum field. In this note we present a modest attempt to prove this…
We investigate the breaking of dark $SU(2)_d$ symmetry at different temperature scales, occurring after Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking or following QCD symmetry breaking. We focus on assessing the potential of the hidden monopoles generated…
In this paper, we propose a bubble filtering-out mechanism for an asymmetric dark matter scenario during the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) phase transition. Based on a QCD axion model, extended by extra chiral neutrinos, we show that the PQ phase…
The original axion natural inflation model predicts a tensor-to-scalar ratio exceeding experimental limits. Conversely, in aligned axion inflation, inflation can proceed along trajectories emerging from near a saddle point of the two-field…
The axion solution to the strong CP problem is delicately sensitive to Peccei-Quinn breaking contributions that are misaligned with respect to QCD instantons. Heavy QCD axion models are appealing because they avoid this so-called "quality…
Axion, the goldstone boson arising from the spontaneous breaking of a global $U(1)$ Peccei-Quinn symmetry, provides a dynamical solution to the strong CP problem and is an excellent dark matter candidate. Various experiments are designed to…
In string theory inspired models of axion-like fields, sub-leading non-perturbative effects, if sufficiently large, can introduce steep cliffs and gentle plateaus onto the underlying scalar potential. During inflation, the motion of a…
Gravitational waves (GWs) provide a powerful probe of the early universe due to their ability to free-stream across cosmic history. We study GW production in a compelling scenario where a rotating axion(-like) field becomes relevant for a…
A simple hadronic axion model is proposed in the framework of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Dynamics of Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking is governed by supersymmetry breaking effects and the Peccei-Quinn breaking scale $f_{PQ}$ is…
For a discrete symmetry that is anomalous under QCD, the domain walls produced in the early universe from its spontaneous breaking can naturally annihilate due to QCD instanton effects. The gravitational waves generated from wall…
Motivated by some of the recent swampland conjectures, we study a model of dark energy, in which a quintessence axion slowly rolls in a steep potential due to its interactions with a U(1) or an SU(2) gauge field. The gauge fields produced…
By identifying the recently introduced Barbero-Immirzi field with the QCD axion, the strong CP problem can be solved through the Peccei-Quinn mechanism. A specific energy scale for the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking is naturally predicted…
Particles in a yet unexplored dark sector with sufficiently large mass and small gauge coupling may form purely gravitational atoms (quantum gravitational bound states) with a rich phenomenology. In particular, we investigate the…
We simultaneously study gravitational waves (GWs) and free axions emitted from axionic string-wall networks in the early universe using advanced 3D lattice simulations. Our simulations start before the Peccei-Quinn phase transition and end…
Theories with more than one scalar field often exhibit phase transitions producing potentially detectable gravitational wave (GW) signal. In this work we study the semi-annihilating $\mathbb{Z}_3$ dark matter model, whose dark sector…
The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration has recently reported strong evidence for a stochastic process affecting the 12.5 yr dataset of pulsar timing residuals. We show that the signal can…
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…
We consider QCD axion models where the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is badly broken by a larger amount in the past than in the present, in order to avoid the axion isocurvature problem. Specifically we study supersymmetric axion models where the…
In anticipation of upcoming gravitational wave experiments, we provide a comprehensive overview of the spectra predicted by phase transitions triggered by states from a large variety of dark sector models. Such spectra are functions of the…