Related papers: Dimensionless constants, cosmology and other dark …
Cosmology and astroparticle physics give strongest possible evidence for the incompleteness of the Standard Model of particle physics. Leaving aside misterious dark energy, which may or may not be just the cosmological constant, two…
The companion-axion model introduces a second QCD axion to rescue the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem from the effects of colored gravitational instantons. As in single-axion models, the two axions predicted by the…
We discuss production of QCD axion dark matter in a novel scenario, which assumes time-varying scale of Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking. The latter decreases as the Universe's temperature at early times and eventually stabilises at a large…
The existence of dark matter provides strong evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Extending the Standard Model with the Peccei-Quinn symmetry and/or supersymmetry, compelling dark matter candidates appear. For the axion, the…
The Peccei-Quinn anomalous global U(1)_{PQ} symmetry is important not only for solving the strong CP problem with a cosmologically relevant axion, but it may also be the origin of a residual Z_2 symmetry. This new symmetry may be…
Recent breakthroughs in cosmology reveal that a quarter of the Universe is composed of dark matter, but the microscopic identity of dark matter remains a deep mystery. I review recent progress in resolving this puzzle, focusing on two…
Quantum theory, general relativity, the standard model of particle physics, and the $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology have all been spectacularly successful within their respective regimes of applicability, but many central problems remain…
The cosmological observations of gravitational lenses, cosmic microwave background, rotation speed of stars in galaxies confirm the existence of about 27% dark matter in the Universe. The nature of these particles is unknown, however, there…
By eschewing finetuning from the electroweak and QCD sectors of supersymmetry (natural supersymmetry or SUSY), and by invoking the Kim-Nilles solution to the SUSY mu problem, one is lead to models wherein the dark matter is comprised of a…
Axion physics is briefly reviewed. Constraints from laboratory searches, astrophysics and cosmology require the axion mass to be in the range $10^{-6} \lesssim m_a < 3\cdot 10^{-3}$eV. Near the lower end of this range, axions are all or a…
The axion is arguably one of the best motivated candidates for dark matter. For a decay constant greater than about 10^9 GeV, axions are dominantly produced non-thermally in the early universe and hence are "cold", their velocity dispersion…
Axions arise in many theoretical extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular the "string axiverse". If the axion masses, $m_a$, and (effective) decay constants, $f_a$, lie in specific ranges, then axions contribute…
The dynamics of our universe is characterised by the density parameters for cosmological constant ($\Omega_V$), nonbaryonic darkmatter($\Omega_{\rm wimp}$), radiation ($\Omega_R$) and baryons ($\Omega_B$). To these parameters -- which…
The next generation of axion direct detection experiments may rule out or confirm axions as the dominant source of dark matter. We develop a general likelihood-based framework for studying the time-series data at such experiments, with a…
I will begin by reviewing the evidence for Dark Matter in the Universe, as well as the candidates for dark matter. At most 20% of the dark matter in galaxies can be in the form of MACHOs (Massive Compact Halo Objects); the remainder appears…
Dark matter constitutes about $23\%$ of the total energy density of the universe but its properties are still little known besides that it should be composed by cold and weakly interacting particles. Many beyond standard model theories can…
There is increasing evidence suggesting a discrepancy between the cosmic dipole observed in the number count of distant galaxies and the one derived from the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In this study, we investigate the possibility…
Cosmology and particle physics are deeply interrelated. Among the common problems are dark energy, dark matter and baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We discuss these problems in general terms, and concentrate on several particular…
We review some recent determinations of the amount of dark matter on galactic, cluster, and large scales, noting some puzzles and their possible resolutions. We discuss the interpretation of big bang nucleosynthesis for dark matter, and…
The identity of dark matter is a question of central importance in both astrophysics and particle physics. In the past, the leading particle candidates were cold and collisionless, and typically predicted missing energy signals at particle…