Related papers: Dark QCD perspective inspired by strong CP problem…
We explore the phenomenology of QCD axion and axion-like particle (ALP) dark matter production via misalignment during inflationary reheating. We investigate scenarios involving inflaton oscillating in a generic potential $\sim \phi^n$,…
The strong CP problem was solved by Peccei & Quinn by introducing axions, a viable candidate for Dark Matter (DM). Here the PQ approach is modified so to yield also Dark Energy (DE). DM and DE arise, in fai proportions, from a single scalar…
We study the experimental constraints on a model of a two-component dark matter, consisting of the QCD axion, and a scalar particle, both contributing to the dark matter relic abundance of the Universe. The global Peccei-Quinn symmetry of…
The QCD axion is a leading dark matter candidate that emerges as part of the solution to the strong CP problem in the Standard Model. The coupling of the axion to photons is the most common experimental probe, but much parameter space…
The dark dimension scenario, which is motivated from Swampland principles and predicts a single micron scale extra dimension, suggests a consistent framework for the dark sector of the universe. We consider the implications of this scenario…
The nature of dark matter remains a central problem in cosmology. A compelling possibility is that dark matter is macroscopic, consisting of composite objects formed in the early Universe. We introduce the QCD-AQN framework, a…
Axions provide a solution to the strong CP problem and are excellent dark matter candidates. The presence of additional sources of CP violation, for example to account for the matter/antimatter asymmetry of the universe, can lead to…
We review the physics case for very weakly coupled ultralight particles beyond the Standard Model, in particular for axions and axion-like particles (ALPs): (i) the axionic solution of the strong CP problem and its embedding in well…
I describe how the QCD vacuum structure, necessary to resolve the $U(1)_A$ problem, predicts the presence of a P, T and CP violating term proportional to the vacuum angle $\bar{\theta}$. To agree with experimental bounds, however, this…
The axion-like particle (ALP) is a well-motivated extension of the Standard Model. In this work, we revisit the sensitivity of forward accelerator experiments to light long-lived ALPs, and analyze flavor constraints. Our analysis…
Using a fundamental discrete symmetry, $\mathbb{Z}_N$, we construct a two-axion model with the QCD axion solving the strong-$CP$ problem, and an ultralight axion (ULA) with $m_{\rm ULA}\approx 10^{-22}\text{ eV}$ providing the dominant form…
First I will review the QCD theta problem and the Peccei-Quinn solution, with its new particle, the axion. I will review the possibility of the axion as dark matter. If PQ symmetry was restored at some point in the hot early Universe, it…
Dark matter (DM) can be composed of a collection of axions, or axion-like particles (ALPs), whose existence is due to the spontaneous breaking of the Peccei-Quinn $U(1)$ symmetry which is the most compelling solution of the strong…
We study the phenomenology of the 'companion-axion model' consisting of two coupled QCD axions. The second axion is required to rescue the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem from the effects of colored gravitational instantons.…
Cosmological axions/axion-like particles can compose a significant part of dark matter; however, the uncertainty of their mass is large. Here, we propose to search the axions using a cylindrical capacitor, in which the static electric field…
We study a composite millicharged dark matter model. The dark matter is in the form of pion-like objects emerging from a higher scale QCD-like theory. We present two distinct possibilities with interesting phenomenological consequences…
We summarise the recent progress of the Axion Longitudinal Plasma HAloscope (ALPHA) Consortium, a new experimental collaboration to build a plasma haloscope to search for axions and dark photons. The plasma haloscope is a novel method for…
The strong CP-violating parameter is small today as indicated by constraints on the neutron electric dipole moment. In the early universe, the QCD axion has not yet relaxed to its QCD-cancelling minimum and it is natural to wonder whether…
The axion kinetic misalignment mechanism (KMM) opens the possibility of explaining dark matter for almost any axion mass and decay constant that are not accessible by the standard misalignment mechanism, in particular at low values of the…
When the inflaton is coupled to the gluon Chern-Simons term for successful reheating, mixing between the inflaton and the QCD axion is generally expected given the solution of the strong CP problem by the QCD axion. This is particularly…