Related papers: Axion Theory and Model Building
Light pseudoscalars known as axion like particles (ALPs) may be behind physical phenomena like the Universe transparency to ultra-energetic photons, the soft $\gamma$-ray excess from the Coma cluster, and the 3.5 keV line. We explore the…
The meV mass range has emerged as a focal point in axion physics, where advances in theory, cosmology, astrophysics, and experimental techniques converge. Axions in this mass range are theoretically well motivated, can arise in…
Dark mesons are bosonic composites of a new, strongly-coupled sector beyond the Standard Model. We consider several dark sectors with fermions that transform under the electroweak group, as arise from a variety of models including…
We consider 5 dimensional gauge theories where the 5th direction is compactified on an interval. The Chern-Simons (CS) terms (favored by naive dimensional analysis) are discussed. A simple scenario with an extra U(1)_X gauge field that…
We analyze the conditions under which some supersymmetric generalizations of a class of models descending from string theory allow an axion in the physical spectrum, due to the presence of anomalous abelian gauge interactions. The gauge…
I discuss the essential features of the QCD axion: the strong CP solution and hence its theoretical necessity. I also review the axion and axino effects on astrophysics and cosmology, in particular with emphasis on their role in the dark…
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…
Composite axion scenarios offer a robust field theoretic justification for the existence of a Peccei-Quinn symmetry of high quality. We present a new class of realizations that are naturally embedded in Grand-Unified Theories, retain…
Growing amount of data show evidence for statistical and apparent physical association between low-redshift galaxies and high-redshift quasi-stellar objects, suggesting noncosmological origin of their redshift and failure of classical…
This paper is concerned with string cosmology and the dynamics of multiple scalar fields in potentials that can become negative, and their features as (Early) Dark Energy models. Our point of departure is the "String Axiverse", a scenario…
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…
Axions in the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) mechanism provide a promising solution to the strong CP problem in the standard model of particle physics. Coherently generated PQ scalar fields could dominate the energy density in the early Universe and…
Dark sectors, consisting of new, light, weakly-coupled particles that do not interact with the known strong, weak, or electromagnetic forces, are a particularly compelling possibility for new physics. Nature may contain numerous dark…
In the first part of the thesis, we revisit the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky axion model in light of the recent Higgs LHC results and electroweak precision data. This model is an extension of the two-Higgs-doublet model incorporating a…
Axionlike particles (ALPs) are hypothetical light (sub-eV) bosons predicted in some extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. In astrophysical environments comprising high-energy gamma rays and turbulent magnetic fields, the…
The electric Weak Gravity Conjecture demands that axions with large decay constant $f$ couple to light instantons. The resulting large instantonic corrections pose problems for natural inflation. We explore an alternative argument based on…
Axionic cosmic string solutions are investigated in a superstring motivated model with a pseudo-anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry. The inclusion of a gauge field and spatially varying dilaton allow local defect solutions with finite energy per…
We study novel solitonic solutions to Einstein-Klein-Gordon theory in the presence of a periodic scalar potential arising in models of axion-like particles. The potential depends on two parameters: the mass of the scalar field $m_a$ and the…
We review recent work on the effective field theory description and the phenomenology of axion-like and scalar particles in models characterized by gauge and/or conformal anomalies.
Primordial decays of string theory moduli at z \sim 10^{12} naturally generate a dark radiation Cosmic Axion Background (CAB) with 0.1 - 1 keV energies. This CAB can be detected through axion-photon conversion in astrophysical magnetic…