Related papers: A Light QCD Axion with Hilltop Misalignment
We consider the possibility that dark matter and dark energy can be explained by the minimal KSVZ axion model. This is possible if the lowest energy metastable minimum of the scalar potential has zero energy density, which is possible in…
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 build a model in which the relic abundance of axions is altered from the standard misalignment mechanism, either increased or decreased, due to the presence of a new light scalar that couples to the radial part of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ)…
Axion-like particles (ALPs) might constitute the totality of the cold dark matter (CDM) observed. The parameter space of ALPs depends on the mass of the particle $m$ and on the energy scale of inflation $H_I$ , the latter being bound by the…
Axions are well-motivated dark matter candidates with simple cosmological production mechanisms. They were originally introduced to solve the strong CP problem, but also arise in a wide range of extensions to the Standard Model. This…
The QCD axion was originally predicted as a dynamical solution to the strong CP problem. Axion like particles (ALPs) are also a generic prediction of many high energy physics models including string theory. Theoretical models for axions are…
A zero initial velocity of the axion field is assumed in the conventional misalignment mechanism. We propose an alternative scenario where the initial velocity is nonzero, which may arise from an explicit breaking of the PQ symmetry in the…
We present a new mechanism to deplete the energy density of the QCD axion, making decay constants as high as $f_a \simeq 10^{17}\,\rm{GeV}$ viable for generic initial conditions. In our setup, the axion couples to a massless dark photon…
The axion mass receives a large correction from small instantons if the QCD gets strongly coupled at high energies. We discuss the size of the new CP violating phases caused by the fact that the small instantons are sensitive to the UV…
One of the targets of future Cosmic Microwave Background and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements is to improve the current accuracy in the neutrino sector and reach a much better sensitivity on extra dark radiation in the Early…
The understanding of the origin of dark matter has great importance for cosmology and particle physics. Several interesting extensions of the standard model dealing with solution of this problem motivate the concept of hidden sectors…
A kinetic mixing between the axion and the inflaton allows for a production of axion dark matter even if the inflationary Hubble scale is smaller than the zero-temperature axion mass. We analyze the axion dynamics in this recently…
The misalignment mechanism for axion-like particles (ALPs) is a leading explanation for dark matter. In this work we investigate ALPs with non-periodic potentials, which allow for large misalignment of the field from the minimum and make it…
Current upper bounds of the neutron electric dipole moment constrain the physically observable quantum chromodynamic (QCD) vacuum angle $|\bar\theta| \lesssim 10^{-11}$. Since QCD explains vast experimental data from the 100 MeV scale to…
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…
Kinetic misalignment, one of the most compelling scenarios for the non-thermal generation of axion dark matter, is generally accompanied by axion fragmentation, a process in which the energy of the axion condensate is transferred to its…
The axion emerges in extensions of the Standard Model that explain the absence of CP violation in the strong interactions. Simultaneously, it can provide naturally the cold dark matter in our universe. Several searches for axions and…
We examine in the context of supersymmetric models whether the usual cosmological upper bound on the axion decay constant can be relaxed by assuming a period of stronger QCD in the early universe. By evaluating the axion potential in the…
We propose two novel solutions to the domain wall problem of the QCD axion by introducing a massless or light axion that also couples to gluons. The first solution applies when the new axion forms strings after inflation. Due to its mixing…
Incorporating the QCD axion and simultaneously satisfying current constraints on the dark matter density and isocurvature fluctuations requires non-minimal fine-tuning of inflationary parameters or the axion misalignment angle (or both) for…