Related papers: Precise predictions for the QCD axion contribution…
The naturalness problem of PQ symmetry motivates study of the heavy QCD axion, with masses $m_a >$ 1 MeV generated at scales above the QCD scale, and low values of the PQ symmetry breaking scale, $f_a$. We compute the abundance of such…
Hot axions, thermally produced in the Early Universe, would contribute to dark radiation and are thus subject to present and future constraints from $N_{\rm eff}$. In this paper we quantify the contribution to $N_{\rm eff}$ and its…
We investigate the cosmological consequences of axion interactions with standard model fermions accurately and precisely. Our analysis is entirely based on a phase space framework that allows us to keep track of the axion distribution in…
Hot axions are produced in the early Universe via their interactions with Standard Model particles, contributing to dark radiation commonly parameterized as $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$. In standard QCD axion benchmark models, this contribution…
The axion-converted-photons flux is a principal window for searching QCD axions as a dark matter (DM) candidate. In addition to solving the strong CP problem, these may explain the properties of the mysterious DM. Neutron star (NS) cooling…
We propose simple scenarios where lepton flavor-violating couplings generate the observed dark matter abundance through freeze-in of an axion-like particle with mass in the few keV range. Compared to flavor-diagonal freeze-in, this…
The recently proposed dark dimension scenario reveals that axions can be localized on the Standard Model brane, thereby predicting the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) axion decay constant from the Weak Gravity Conjecture: $f_a\lesssim M_5 \sim…
Axions are one of the most attractive dark matter candidates. The evolution of their number density in the early universe can be determined by calculating the topological susceptibility $\chi(T)$ of QCD as a function of the temperature.…
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 QCD axion is a promising candidate of the dark matter. In this paper, we discuss elastic scattering processes between nucleons and the QCD axion dark matter. We point out that the cross section can be enhanced by more than…
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…
We discuss relaxation solutions to the dark matter - baryon coincidence problem in the context of QCD axion dark matter. In relaxation solutions, a moduli dynamically adjusts the mass of dark matter and baryons until their energy densities…
We show how several properties of the QCD axion can be extracted at high precision using only first principle QCD computations. By combining NLO results obtained in chiral perturbation theory with recent Lattice QCD results the full axion…
Light, weakly coupled sectors can retain information about the cosmological background in which they are produced. We study light axions produced during reheating and their contribution to dark radiation, $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$. We develop a…
We present a systematic study of QCD axion production in environments with finite baryon density and temperature, implying significant changes to axion phenomenology. Within heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory, we derive the effective…
We demonstrate that dark matter axion production is enhanced through a natural and unavoidable mechanism: primordial temperature fluctuations periodically modulate the axion mass during the QCD phase transition, thereby triggering…
Light axions can potentially leave a cosmic background, just like neutrinos. We complete the study of thermal axion production across the electroweak scale by providing a smooth and continuous treatment through the two phases. Focusing on…
The properties of axions that constitute 100% of cold dark matter (CDM) depend on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ at the end of inflation. If $r=0.20^{+0.07}_{-0.05}$ as reported by the BICEP2 collaboration, then "half" of the CDM axion…
Recent analyses of WMAP9 data show that dark radiation-- parametrized by the apparent number of additional neutrinos \Delta N_{eff} contributing to the cosmic expansion-- is consistent with the Standard Model and bounded from above by about…
Relativistic axions are good candidates for the dark radiation for which there are mounting observational hints. The primordial decays of heavy fields produce axions which are ultra-energetic compared to thermalised matter and inelastic…