Related papers: Axion Quality Problem Alleviated by Non-Minimal Co…
In this work, we critically reanalyze the explicit breaking of the Peccei-Quinn global symmetry -- and the corresponding corrections to the QCD axion potential -- induced by gravity. Specifically, we examine the role of gravitational…
In axion models, the global U(1) Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is explicitly broken by non-perturbative effects of gravity, such as axionic wormholes. The gravitational violation of the PQ symmetry due to wormholes is large enough to…
We propose two models where a U(1) Peccei-Quinn global symmetry arises accidentally and is respected up to high-dimensional operators, so that the axion solution to the strong CP problem is successful even in the presence of…
Any would-be Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is vulnerable to various types of explicit breaking. It has long been recognized that these can disrupt the axion solution to the strong CP problem. There have also been suggestions that, under…
We construct explicit models that solve the axion quality problem originating from quantum gravitational effects. The general strategy we employ is to supplement the Standard Model and its grand unified extensions by an anomaly-free axial…
Continuous global symmetries are expected to be broken by gravity, which can lead to important phenomenological consequences. A prime example is the threat that this poses to the viability of the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong CP…
We show that the required high quality of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry can be naturally explained in the aligned QCD axion models where the QCD axion arises from multiple axions with decay constants much smaller than the axion window, e.g.,…
We propose a consistent framework with the $U(1)$ Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry for obtaining the initial condition for axion kinetic misalignment from inflation. We introduce a PQ complex scalar field and an extra Higgs doublet, which are…
The effects of possible explicit violation of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry responsible for the solution of the strong CP problem are studied in supersymmetric models. It is shown that automatic models with an abelian $U(1)$ gauge symmetry are…
Although the axion is the most compelling solution to the strong CP problem, the ad hoc introduced global Peccei-Quinn symmetry suffers from a severe fine-tuning problem known as the quality problem. In this Letter, we show that the…
The strong CP problem is a compelling motivation for physics beyond the Standard Model. The most popular solutions invoke a global Peccei-Quinn symmetry, but are challenged by quantum gravitational corrections which are thought to be…
The axion provides a compelling solution to the strong CP problem as well as a candidate for the dark matter of the universe. However, the axion solution relies on the spontaneous breaking of a global $U(1)_{PQ}$ symmetry, which is also…
The main limitation for preinflationary breaking of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is the upper bound on the Hubble rate during inflation from axion isocurvature fluctuations. This leads to a tension between high scale inflation and QCD axions…
Axion models generically suffer from a severe quality problem when coupled to gravity. In this article we provide a very simple model with a high quality axion. The axion is a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson of the baryon number symmetry,…
We examine the sensitivity of several solutions of the strong-CP problem to violations of global symmetries by Planck scale physics. We find that the Peccei-Quinn solution is extremely sensitive to U(1)_PQ violating operators of dimension…
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…
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…
Global-symmetry violating higher-dimension operators, expected to be induced by Planck-scale physics, in general drastically alter the properties of the axion field associated with the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem, and…
The axion solution to the strong CP problem calls for an explanation as to why the Lagrangian should be invariant under the global Peccei-Quinn symmetry, U(1)_PQ, to such a high degree of accuracy. In this paper, we point out that 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…