Related papers: Axion Perturbations: A General Analytical Treatmen…
We propose a new mechanism to suppress the axion isocurvature perturbation, while producing the right amount of axion dark matter, within the framework of supersymmetric axion models with the axion scale induced by supersymmetry breaking.…
The QCD axion solves the strong CP problem and represents an attractive particle candidate for cold dark matter (CDM). However, quantum fluctuations of the axion field during inflation easily result in large CDM isocurvature perturbations…
A new mechanism for producing axion dark matter is proposed. By invoking low-scale inflation and a kinetic mixing between the axion and the inflaton, it is shown that the axion is driven to a field point slightly displaced from the…
We consider a perfectly homogeneous and isotropic universe which undergoes a sudden phase transition. If the transition produces topological defects, which we assume, perturbations in the geometry and the cosmic fluid also suddenly appear.…
This PhD thesis presents a study of the effect and generation of non-adiabatic perturbations in Cosmology. We study adiabatic (curvature) and entropy (isocurvature) perturbations produced during a period of cosmological inflation that is…
Long-standing efforts to detect axions are driven by two compelling prospects, naturally accounting for the absence of charge-conjugation and parity symmetry breaking in quantum chromodynamics, and for the elusive dark matter at ultralight…
The axion is a light pseudoscalar particle postulated to solve issues with the Standard Model, including the strong CP problem and the origin of dark matter. In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in the physics of axions in…
We consider the generation of primordial curvature perturbation by general non-Abelian vector fields without committing to a particular group. Self-interactions of non-Abelian fields make the field perturbation non-Gaussian. We calculate…
The string axiverse predicts a unique connection between the high scales approachable only through theory and the low energies within reach of experimental verification: a multitude of light, feebly interacting axions. In order to capture…
Despite growing interest and extensive effort to search for ultralight dark matter in the form of a hypothetical dark photon, how it fits into a consistent cosmology is unclear. Several dark photon dark matter production mechanisms proposed…
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…
One fundamental physics interpretation of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) results is that the observed accelerated expansion of the Universe is driven not by the cosmological constant, but by a slowly rolling scalar field, a…
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) places strong constraints on models of dark matter (DM) that deviate from standard cold DM (CDM), and on initial conditions beyond the scalar adiabatic mode. Here, the full \textit{Planck} data set…
Despite stringent constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations, it is still possible for well-motivated particle physics models to substantially alter the cosmic expansion history…
We study a dark matter (DM) model offering a very natural explanation of two (naively unrelated) problems in cosmology: the observed relation $\Omega_{\rm DM}\sim\Omega_{\rm visible}$ and the observed asymmetry between matter and antimatter…
Gravitational waves (GWs) provide a powerful probe of the early universe due to their ability to free-stream across cosmic history. We study GW production in a compelling scenario where a rotating axion(-like) field becomes relevant for a…
Axions and dark photons are common in many extensions of the Standard Model. The dark axion portal -- an axion coupling to the dark photon and photon -- can significantly modify their phenomenology. We study the cosmological constraints on…
Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interactions within the Standard Model of particle physics, which explains more than 99% of the mass of the visible Universe. However, there is evidence that a substantial portion of…
Determining the equation of state of dark energy with astronomical observations is crucially important to understand the nature of dark energy. In performing a likelihood analysis of the data, especially of the cosmic microwave background…
We perform an updated analysis on a long-lived axion domain wall (DW) network. By simulating the axion field on a 3D lattice and fitting an analytical model for the DW evolution, we identify the leading energy loss mechanisms of the DWs and…