Related papers: Gauge coupling jump and small instantons from a la…
We study gaugino condensation in the presence of an intermediate mass scale in the hidden sector. S-duality is imposed as an approximate symmetry of the effective supergravity theory. Furthermore, we include in the K\"ahler potential the…
Gauge coupling unification is studied in the MSSM with non-universal soft supersymmetry breaking terms. If gaugino masses are sufficiently smaller than scalar soft masses and the scalar soft masses have also certain types of…
We point out that a QCD axion solving the strong CP problem can arise naturally from parity-odd gauge field C_M in 5-dimensional (5D) orbifold field theory. The required axion coupling to the QCD anomaly comes from the 5D Chern-Simons…
Conventionally, the strong-$CP$ problem is assumed to be a naturalness puzzle, with the axion solution sometimes viewed as an ad hoc fix. Gravity is either ignored or taken as a threat for the global Peccei-Quinn symmetry. We explain that…
The discovery of an axion-like particle above the QCD line would rule out Grand Unified Theories, including the perturbative heterotic string with the Standard Model embedded in a single $E_8$ factor or $SO(32)$. In this work we study a…
Axions, periodic scalar fields coupled to gauge fields through the instanton density, have a rich variety of higher-form global symmetries. These include a two-form global symmetry, which measures the charge of axion strings. As we review,…
If the inflaton is a pseudo-scalar axion, the axion shift symmetry can protect the flatness of its potential from too large radiative corrections. This possibility, known as natural inflation, requires an axion scale which is greater than…
Constraints on inflationary scenarios and isocurvature perturbations have excluded the simplest and most generic models of dark matter based on QCD axions. Considering non-minimal kinetic couplings of scalar fields to gravity substantially…
Inspired by recent studies of high-scale decay constant or flavorful QCD axions, we review and clarify their existence in effective string models with anomalous $U(1)$ gauge groups. We find that such models, when coupled to charged scalars…
We deal with extensions of the Standard Model by adding horizontal interactions between particle generations. We calculate two loop corrections caused by the presence of coupling between hypothetical horizontal gauge bosons and matter…
We show that, for values of the axion decay constant parametrically close to the GUT scale, the Peccei-Quinn phase transition may naturally occur during warm inflation. This results from interactions between the Peccei-Quinn scalar field…
The axion-gluon coupling is the defining feature of the QCD axion. This feature induces additional and qualitatively different interactions of the axion with standard model particles -- quadratic couplings. Previously, hadronic quadratic…
We numerically study axion-U(1) inflation, focusing on the regime where the coupling between axions and gauge fields results in significant backreaction from the amplified gauge fields during inflation. These amplified gauge fields not only…
According to a recent paper by Robinson and Wilczek, the leading gravitational corrections to the running of gauge couplings tend to reduce the values of the couplings at energies below the gravitational scale, defined to be the energy…
We consider, in Palatini formalism, a modified gravity of which the scalar field derivative couples to Einstein tensor. In this scenario, Ricci scalar, Ricci tensor and Einstein tensor are functions of connection field. As a result, the…
We study scalar-tensor-tensor and tensor-scalar-scalar three point cross correlations generated by the dynamics of a transiently rolling spectator axion-$\mathrm U(1)$ gauge field model during inflation. In this framework, tensor and scalar…
During inflation an axion field coupled to a gauge field through a Chern-Simons term can trigger the production of gauge quanta due to a tachyonic instability. The amplification of the gauge field modes exponentially depends on the velocity…
The effects of extra dimensions on gauge coupling unification is studied. We start with a comparison between power law running of the gauge couplings in models with extra dimensions and logarithmic running that happens in many realistic…
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…
We study cosmological dynamics of a generalized Higgs inflation. By expanding the action up to the second and third order in the small perturbations, we study the primordial perturbation and its non-Gaussian distribution. We study the…