Related papers: Resurrecting Low-Mass Axion Dark Matter Via a Dyna…
We explore the interplay of the post-inflationary QCD axion and a light scalar field for the axion domain wall decay and dark matter (DM). The scalar field possesses a nonzero vacuum expectation value (VEV) during inflation, so that its…
A number of proposed and ongoing experiments search for axion dark matter with a mass nearing the limit set by small scale structure (${\cal O} ( 10 ^{ - 21 } {\rm eV} ) $). We consider the late universe cosmology of these models, showing…
We propose a new regime of minimal QCD axion dark matter that lies between the pre- and post-inflationary scenarios, such that the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is restored only on sufficiently large spatial scales. This leads to a novel…
Cosmologically long-lived, composite states arise as natural dark matter candidates in theories with a strongly interacting hidden sector at a scale of 10 - 100 TeV. Light axion-like states, with masses in the 1 MeV - 10 GeV range, are also…
We propose a framework in which the QCD axion has an exponentially large coupling to photons, relying on the "clockwork" mechanism. We discuss the impact of present and future axion experiments on the parameter space of the model. In…
Ignorance of the initial condition for the axion dynamics in the early Universe has led us to consider an $O(1)$ valued initial amplitude, and that prefers the decay constant, $F_a$, of the QCD axion to be an intermediate scale such as…
We consider the production of axion dark matter through the misalignment mechanism in the context of a nonstandard cosmological history involving early matter domination by a scalar field with a time-dependent decay rate. In cases where the…
We reanalyze the conditions under which we have a primordial thermal population of axions. Compared with previous studies, we find other processes, involving gluons and quarks, that dominate at high temperatures. We conclude that if the…
A scale-invariant extension of the Standard Model with a singlet-scalar and hidden-QCD sector is studied. The scale of electroweak symmetry breaking is generated dynamically in an asymptotic-free hidden-QCD sector, and mediated by the…
We examine the theoretical possibility for the heavy QCD axion to induce slow-roll inflation while solving the strong CP problem through the Peccei-Quinn mechanism. If the cancellation between contributions from a small-size instanton and…
Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interactions within the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains more than 99% of the mass of the visible Universe. However, there is evidence that a substantial portion of…
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are often considered as good candidates for dark matter. Several mechanisms generating relic abundance of ALP dark matter have been proposed. They may involve processes which take place before, during or after…
The axion is a hypothetical low-mass boson predicted by the Peccei-Quinn mechanism solving the strong CP problem. It is naturally also a cold dark matter candidate if its mass is below $\sim$\,1\,meV, thus simultaneously solving two major…
The naturalness problem of PQ symmetry motivates study of the heavy QCD axion, with masses $m_a >$ 1 MeV generated at scales above the QCD scale, and low values of the PQ symmetry breaking scale, $f_a$. We compute the abundance of such…
The \mu parameter of the supersymmetric standard model is replaced by \lambda S, where S is a singlet chiral superfield, introducing a Peccei--Quinn symmetry into the theory. Dynamics at the electroweak scale naturally solves both the…
Incorporating the QCD axion and simultaneously satisfying current constraints on the dark matter density and isocurvature fluctuations requires non-minimal fine-tuning of inflationary parameters or the axion misalignment angle (or both) for…
We study in detail a supersymmetric Peccei-Quinn model, which has a DFSZ and a KSVZ version. The fields breaking the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry correspond to flat directions (flaton fields) and have unsuppressed couplings when PQ symmetry…
Scalar field dark matter likely is able to solve all small-scale cosmology problems facing the cold dark matter (CDM), and has become an emerging contender to challenge the CDM. It however requires a particle mass $\sim 1 - 2…
We report on an interesting realization of the QCD axion, with mass in the range $\mathcal{O}(10)$ MeV. It has previously been shown that although this scenario is stringently constrained from multiple sources, the model remains viable for…
Considering axino cold dark matter scenarios with a long-lived charged slepton, we study constraints on the Peccei-Quinn scale f_a and on the reheating temperature T_R imposed by the dark matter density and by big bang nucleosynthesis…