Related papers: Dimensionless constants, cosmology and other dark …
The QCD axion and axion-like particles, as leading dark matter candidates, can also have interesting implications for dark matter substructures if the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken after inflation. In such a scenario, axion perturbations…
It is suggested that the true ground state of the world has exactly vanishing vacuum energy and that the cosmological constant that seems to have been observed is due to our region of the universe being stuck in a false vacuum, whose energy…
Predicting signals in direct dark matter (DM) detection experiments requires an understanding of the astrophysical structure of the local halo. Any uncertainty in this understanding will feed directly into all experimental results. However…
In this thesis the cosmological constant is investigated from two points of view. First, we study the influence of a time-dependent cosmological constant on the late-time expansion of the universe. Thereby, we consider several combinations…
We consider the production of axion dark matter through the misalignment mechanism in the context of a nonstandard cosmological history involving early matter domination by a scalar field with a time-dependent decay rate. In cases where the…
Cosmology now provides unambiguous, quantitative evidence for new particle physics. I discuss the implications of cosmology for supersymmetry and vice versa. Topics include: motivations for supersymmetry; supersymmetry breaking; dark…
Probing the existence of hypothetical particles beyond the Standard model often deals with extreme parameters: large energies, tiny cross-sections, large time scales, etc. Sometimes laboratory experiments can test required regions of…
We review results from QCD axion string and domain wall simulations and propagate the associated uncertainties, including QCD uncertainties, into the calculation of the axion relic density. We compare two different sets of studies and,…
Two new observations have strengthened the case for the supersymmetric nature of the Cold Dark Matter component in our universe: First, it was shown that new data on the nuclear abundance, B/C - and 10Be/9Be ratios constrain the diffusion…
Despite their tremendous successes, modern-day cosmology and particle physics harbor a variety of unresolved mysteries. Two of the biggest are the origin of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe and the existence and nature of dark matter.…
We consider the astrophysical and cosmological implications of the existence of a minimum density and mass due to the presence of the cosmological constant. If there is a minimum length in nature, then there is an absolute minimum mass…
In the present universe visible and dark matter contribute comparable energy density although they have different properties. This coincidence can be elegantly explained if the dark matter relic density, originating from a dark matter…
There is almost universal agreement among cosmologists that most of the matter in the Universe is dark, and there are very good reasons to believe that most of this dark matter must be nonbaryonic. The two leading candidates for this dark…
We present global fits of cosmologically stable axion-like particle and QCD axion models in the mass range 0.1 neV to 10 eV. We focus on the case where the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken before the end of inflation, such that the initial…
Despite the fact that the mean matter density of the universe has been measured to an accuracy of a few percent within the standard $\Lambda$CDM paradigm, its median density is not known even to order of magnitude. Typical points lie in…
Dark matter models can give rise to specific signatures at particle physics experiments or in cosmology. The details of the cosmological history can also influence the new physics signals to be expected at e.g. collider experiments. In…
The Strong CP Problem can be resolved by introducing an additional global symmetry known as Peccei-Quinn symmetry. Once PQ symmetry is broken the associated particle, the QCD axion, is a plausible dark matter candidate. Calculating the…
Over the past few decades, a consensus picture has emerged in which roughly a quarter of the universe consists of dark matter. I begin with a review of the observational evidence for the existence of dark matter: rotation curves of…
For many working in particle physics and cosmology successful discovery and characterisation of the new particles that most likely explain the non-baryonic cold dark matter, known to comprise the majority of matter in the Universe, would be…
It was shown that the required high quality of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry can be a natural outcome of the multiple QCD axions model. In the axiverse, a hypothetical mass mixing between the QCD axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) can…