Related papers: The Cosmological Dynamics of String Theory Axion S…
We consider the scenario in which the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking is followed by a period of inflation. A particularly interesting case is that the string-domain wall network produced by the symmetry breaking enters the horizon after the…
In a modest attempt to present potentially new paradigms in Cosmology, including its inflationary epoch, and initiate discussions, I review in this article some novel, string-inspired cosmological models, which entail a purely geometrical…
String theories suggest the existence of a plethora of axion-like fields with masses spread over a huge number of decades. Here we show that these ideas lend themselves to a model of quintessence with no super-Planckian field excursions and…
In this talk, I review briefly a scenario for the evolution of a string-inspired cosmological model, in which condensates of primordial gravitational waves (GW), formed at the very early eras after the Big Bang, are considered responsible…
The string axion may provide the most attractive solution to the strong CP problem in QCD. However, the axion energy density easily exceeds the dark matter density in the present universe due to a large decay constant around $10^{16}$ GeV,…
I review several aspects of torsion in string-inspired cosmologies. In particular, I discuss its connection with fundamental, string-model independent, axion fields associated with the massless gravitational multiplet of the string. I argue…
Cold dark matter axions produced in the post-inflationary Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking scenario serve as clear targets for their experimental detection, since it is in principle possible to give a sharp prediction for their mass once we…
String theoretic axion is a prime candidate for the QCD axion solving the strong CP problem. For a successful realization of the QCD axion in string theory, one needs to stabilize moduli including the scalar partner (saxion) of the QCD…
In $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory without matter, there exist stable long electric fluxtube strings which carry a 1-form symmetry charge. Over the past decade or so, there has been increasing evidence from lattice calculations that the…
A generic low-energy prediction of string theory is the existence of a large collection of axions, commonly known as a string axiverse. Axions also have a natural cosmological production mechanism, vacuum misalignment, making them…
We explore the cosmological consequences of the superconductivity of QCD axion strings. Axion strings can support a sizeable chiral electric current and charge, which alters their early universe dynamics. Shrinking axion string loops can…
Axions are light pseudoscalar bosons postulated with many motivations in particle physics and cosmology, including the strong CP problem and the dark matter in our Universe. In this lecture notes, we discuss a variety of known ultraviolet…
The QCD axion solving the strong CP problem may originate from antisymmetric tensor gauge fields in compactified string theory, with a decay constant around the GUT scale. Such possibility appears to be ruled out now by the detection of…
We discuss the possible sources of dark matter axions in the early universe. In the standard thermal scenario, an axion string network forms at the Peccei-Quinn phase transition $T\sim \fa$ and then radiatively decays into a cosmological…
The global $U_{PQ}(1)$ Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry, proposed to resolve the strong CP problem, predicts the existence of the axion, a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson and a leading dark matter candidate. The spontaneous breaking of this symmetry…
If the QCD axion solves the strong CP problem then light axion-like-particles (ALPs) are expected to be ubiquitous in string theory - the string axiverse. Such ALPs can be the QCD axion and constitute dark matter (DM) or radiation,…
String theory generically predicts the coupling between the Affleck-Dine field and axion field through higher-dimensional operators. We thus explore the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis on an axion background. It turns out that the axion…
The topological susceptibility of the QCD vacuum provides an understanding of $\theta$-vacua as vacua of a Chern-Simons gauge theory. In this way, it gives an immediate proof of the physicality of the boundary $\theta$-term. This makes the…
Axions, grand unification, and string theory are each compelling extensions of the Standard Model. We show that combining these frameworks imposes strong constraints on the QCD axion mass. Using unitarity arguments and explicit string…
The QCD axion can successfully solve the strong CP problem under the condition that the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is respected to extremely high standard. We explore a class of gauge theories that accommodate a high-quality axion, known as the…