Related papers: Cosmology with a supersymmetric local $B-L$ model
A spontaneously broken hidden U(1)$_h$ gauge symmetry can explain both the dark matter stability and the observed relic abundance. In this framework, the light gauge boson can mediate the strong dark matter self-interaction, which addresses…
We show that if there is a realistic 4-d string, the dilaton and moduli supermultiplets will generically acquire a small mass O(m_{3/2}), providing the only vacuum-independent evidence of low-energy physics in string theory beyond the…
Cosmic strings, a hot subject in the 1980's and early 1990's, lost its appeal when it was found that it leads to inconsistencies in the power spectrum of the measured cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies. However,…
Black holes, the simplest solution to Einstein's field equations, do not emit light, making their observations a major challenge for researchers. However, discovery of binary black holes (BBHs) in 2015 by LIGO has transformed the study of…
We have built a supersymmetric SO(10) model consistent with cosmological observations. The model gives rise to a false vacuum hybrid inflationary scenario which solves the monopole problem. We argue that this type of inflationary scenario…
Breaking a global or local $U(1)_{\rm B-L}$ symmetry at high scales simultaneously generates Majorana masses for heavy right-handed neutrinos and produces a network of cosmic strings. The evolution and decay of these strings source a…
We present a simple model of dark matter that can address astrophysical and cosmological puzzles across a wide range of scales. The model is an application of the Secretly Asymmetric Dark Matter mechanism, where several flavors of dark…
We consider a class of models in which minimal gauged F-term hybrid inflation is coupled renormalisably to the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), with no extra ingredients; we call this class the "minimal hybrid inflationary…
The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which includes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in constructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that these…
In cosmological models where local cosmic strings are formed at the end of a period of inflation, the perturbations are seeded both by the defects and by the quantum fluctuations. In a subset of these models, for example those based on…
The spontaneous breaking of B-L symmetry naturally accounts for the small observed neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism. We have recently shown that the cosmological realization of B-L breaking in a supersymmetric theory can…
In an interesting class of models, non-renormalizable terms of the superpotential are responsible for the spontanteous breaking of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry as well as the generation of the $\mu$ term. The flaton fields which break PQ…
Dynamical mechanisms to generate an ultralight axion of mass $\sim 10^{-21}-10^{-22}$ eV in supergravity and strings are discussed. An ultralight particle of this mass provides a candidate for dark matter that may play a role for cosmology…
We show that a short period of late D-term inflation can solve the cosmological moduli (radion) problem of (asymmetric) inflation at the TeV scale. Late inflation happens after the large compact dimensions are stabilized which is crucial…
Explicit string models which can realize inflation and low-energy supersymmetry are notoriously difficult to achieve. Given that sequestering requires very specific configurations, supersymmetric particles are in general expected to be very…
We discuss a supersymmetric model for cogenesis of dark and baryonic matter where the dark matter (DM) has mass in the 8-10 GeV range as indicated by several direct detection searches including most recently the CDMS experiment with the…
It is quite possible that the reheat temperature of the universe is extremely low close to the scale of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, i.e. $T_{R}\sim 1-10$ MeV. At such low reheat temperatures generating matter anti-matter asymmetry and…
We study well-motivated dark matter candidates arising from weakly-coupled hidden sectors in compactified string/$M$-theory. Imposing generic top-down constraints greatly restricts allowed candidates. By considering the possible mechanisms…
Gauging $B-L$ symmetry provides a simple realization of the seesaw mechanism in a naturally anomaly free extension to the MSSM gauge group, $SU(3)_c\times SU(2)_L\times U(1)_Y \times U(1)_{B-L}$. However, as we discuss in here, it turns out…
We present a dynamical cosmological solution that simultaneously accounts for the early inflationary stage of the Universe and solves the supersymmetric little hierarchy problem via the relaxion mechanism. First, we consider an inflationary…