Related papers: Dark Radiation and the Hagedorn Phase
We illustrate the main points behind the computation of the gravitational wave spectrum originated from a phase in the early universe where the energy density is dominated by highly excited fundamental string degrees of freedom - a Hagedorn…
We consider scenarios where the inflaton field decays dominantly to a hidden dark matter (DM) sector. By studying the typical behavior of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs field during inflation, we derive a relation between the primordial…
The magnetic fluxbrane solution with a strongly warped throat is studied in the Type IIA supergravity theory with co-dimension one local source which surves as $Z_{2}$-symmetric UV boundary of the throat. Overall volume of extra space is…
We perform a general analysis of axionic dark radiation produced from the decay of the lightest modulus in the sequestered LARGE Volume Scenario. We discuss several cases depending on the form of the Kahler metric for visible sector matter…
The application of D-brane methods to large black holes whose Schwarzschild radius is larger than the compactification scale is problematic. Callan and Maldacena have suggested that despite apparent problems of strong interactions when the…
Axions are produced during a period of dilaton-driven inflation by amplification of quantum fluctuations. We show that for some range of string cosmology parameters and some range of axion masses, primordial axions may constitute a large…
Axions arise in many theoretical extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular the "string axiverse". If the axion masses, $m_a$, and (effective) decay constants, $f_a$, lie in specific ranges, then axions contribute…
We show that the cosmological abundance of string axions is much smaller than naive estimates if the Hubble scale of inflation, $H_{\rm inf}$, is sufficiently low (but can still be much higher than the axion masses) and if the inflation…
We discuss some cosmological implications of extensions of the Standard Model with hidden sector scalars coupled to the Higgs boson. We put special emphasis on the conformal case, in which the electroweak symmetry is broken radiatively with…
Recently there has been considerable interest in field theories and string theories with large extra spacetime dimensions. In this paper, we explore the role of such extra dimensions for cosmology, focusing on cosmological phase transitions…
We describe a general scenario, dubbed "Inflatable Dark Matter", in which the density of dark matter particles can be reduced through a short period of late-time inflation in the early universe. The overproduction of dark matter that is…
Interacting dark sectors may undergo changes in the number of their relativistic species during the early universe, due to a mass threshold $m$ (similar to changes in the Standard Model bath), and in doing so affect the cosmic history. When…
The dynamics of a probe particle or wrapped brane moving in the two-dimensional Rindler space can be described by a time-dependent tachyon field theory. Using knowledge of tachyon condensation, we learn that the infalling brane gets…
Primordial black holes in the mass range from $10^{-5}$ to $10^9$ g might have existed in the early universe. Via their evaporation mechanism (completed before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis), they might have released stable particles beyond the…
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 show generically that the dynamics of a probe particle near the event horizon of a non-extreme black hole is described by the tachyon effective action. The Hagedorn temperature in the action is always equal to the Hawking temperature of…
We examine the cosmological effects of the Hagedorn phase in models where the observable universe is pictured as a D-brane. It is shown that, even in the absence of a cosmological constant, winding modes cause a negative `pressure' that can…
If even a relatively small number of black holes were created in the early universe, they will constitute an increasingly large fraction of the total energy density as space expands. It is thus well-motivated to consider scenarios in which…
Dark matter may be coupled to dark radiation: light degrees of freedom that mediate forces between dark sector particles. Cosmological constraints favor dark radiation that is colder than Standard Model radiation. In models with fixed…
The Weak Gravity Conjecture, if valid, rules out simple models of Natural Inflation by restricting their axion decay constant to be sub-Planckian. We revisit stringy attempts to realise Natural Inflation, with a single open string axionic…