Related papers: Light QCD Axion Dark Matter from Double Level Cros…
We review the physics case for CP-violating axions. In the first part, we focus on the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) axion and argue that new sources of CP violation beyond QCD misalign the axion solution to the strong CP problem and can…
The identification of dark matter in our particle physics model is still a very open question. Here we will argue that axinos can be successful dark matter candidates in models with supersymmetry and the axion solution of the strong CP…
Dark matter, gauge coupling unification, and the strong CP problem find a common and simple solution (in the absence of naturalness) within axion models. We show that such solution, even without specifying the details of the model…
The XENON1T excess can be explained by the Axion Like Particle (ALP) dark matter with mass around 2.5 keV. However, there are three problems needed to be solved: suppressing the coupling $g_{a\gamma}$ between the ALP and photon, and…
The cosmological QCD transition affects primordial density perturbations. If the QCD transition is first order, the sound speed vanishes during the transition and density perturbations fall freely. For scales below the Hubble radius at the…
Bounds are derived on the axion-like particle (ALP) to two-photon coupling in the mass range $2.65-5.27$ eV. The bounds are obtained by searching for the signal from ALP decay in the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of…
We construct a theory in which the solution to the strong CP problem is an emergent property of the background of the dark matter in the Universe. The role of the axion degree of freedom is played by multi-body collective excitations…
The particle nature of dark matter (DM) remains one of the most significant enigmas in modern cosmology. Axion-like particles (ALPs), as well-motivated candidates for cold dark matter, can undergo radiative decay into photon pairs, a…
We present a comprehensive study of axion condensed neutron stars that arise in models of an exceptionally light axion that couples to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). These axions solve the strong-charge-parity (CP) problem, but have a…
We highlight general issues associated with quality and naturalness problems in theories of light QCD-axions, axion-like particles, and relaxions. We show the presence of Planck-suppressed operators generically lead to scalar coupling of…
Dark matter could be a thermal relic comprised of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs), where $3 \rightarrow 2$ interactions set the relic abundance. Such interactions generically arise in theories of chiral symmetry breaking via…
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…
Axion-like fields are naturally generated by a mechanism of anomaly cancellation of one or more anomalous gauge abelian symmetries at the Planck scale, emerging as duals of a two-form from the massless bosonic sector of string theory. This…
The dual axion model (DAM), yielding bot DM and DE form a PQ-like scalar field solving the strong CP problem, is known to allow a fair fit of CMB data. Recently, however, it was shown that its transfer function exhibits significant…
We explore a KSVZ-like extension of the Standard Model with a Dirac fermion and three right-handed neutrinos. PQ symmetry allows the Dirac mass for neutrinos and prevents the Majorana mass. A $\mathcal{Z}_2$ symmetry guarantees the…
The cosmological QCD transition affects primordial density perturbations. If the QCD transition is first order, the sound speed vanishes during the transition and density perturbations fall freely. For scales below the Hubble radius at the…
Proposed half a century ago, the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) axion explains the lack of charge and parity violation in the strong interactions and is a compelling candidate for cold dark matter. The last decade has seen the rapid…
Recently, two of the present authors showed that even when the axion momentum is much smaller than its mass, the axion can still behave like radiation if its energy density greatly exceeds the maximum potential energy set by the cosine-type…
A hypothetical particle known as the axion holds the potential to resolve both the cosmic dark matter riddle and particle physics' long-standing, strong CP dilemma. An unusually strong 21-cm absorption feature associated with the initial…
Although the standard {\Lambda}CDM model describes the cosmic microwave background radiation and the large scale structure of the Universe with great success, it has some tensions with observations in the effective number of neutrino…