Related papers: TASI Lectures on The Strong CP Problem
It follows on general grounds that the theta dependence in QCD is more complicated than suggested by the large N_c approach or instanton arguments. Generically, the vacuum energy E_{vac}(\theta) is a multi-valued function of \theta…
We exploit the non-perturbative result that the $\theta$ angle which defines the vacuum structure is not a $c$-number free parameter, as suggested by the instanton semi-classical approximation, but instead one of the points of the spectrum…
We study the effects of CP violation on the nature of the chiral transition within the linear sigma model with two flavors of quarks. The finite-temperature effective potential containing contributions from nontrivial values for the…
We analyze the impact of the $\theta$-angle and axion dynamics for two-color (in fact any $Sp(2N)$) QCD at nonzero baryon charge and as a function of the number of matter fields on the vacuum properties, the pattern of chiral symmetry…
We show that models in which the strong $CP$ problem is solved by introducing an axion field with a mass enhanced by non-QCD UV dynamics at a scale $\Lambda_{\rm SI}$ exhibit enhanced sensitivity to external sources of $CP$ violation. In…
The QCD axion is one of the most compelling solutions of the strong CP problem. There are major current efforts into searching for an ultralight, invisible axion, which is believed to be the only phenomenologically viable realization of the…
Topological excitations are prominent candidates for explaining nonperturbative effects in QCD like confinement. In these lectures, I cover both formal treatments and applications of topological objects. The typical phenomena like BPS…
Topology enters in quantum field theory (qft) in multiple forms: one of the most important, in non-abelian gauge theories, being in the identification of the $\theta$ vacuum in QCD. A very relevant aspect of this connection is through the…
We review the physics case for CP-violating axions. In the first part, we focus on the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) axion and argue that new sources of CP violation beyond QCD misalign the axion solution to the strong CP problem and can…
The axion mass receives a large correction from small instantons if the QCD gets strongly coupled at high energies. We discuss the size of the new CP violating phases caused by the fact that the small instantons are sensitive to the UV…
We discuss conditions that should be satisfied by axion models for solving the strong CP problem. It has been observed that Planck scale effects may render the axion models ineffective if there are gauge invariant operators of dimension…
These lectures are intended to provide an introduction to heavy meson decays and CP violation. The first lecture contains a brief review of the standard model and how the CKM matrix and CP violation arise, mixing and CP violation in neutral…
We show how the gauge invariant formulation of QCD in terms of loops is free from a hidden $\theta$ parameter and offers an alternative way to solve the $U(1)_A$ puzzle.
These lectures, presented at TASI 08 school, provide an introduction to supersymmetry and supersymmetry breaking. We present basic formalism of supersymmetry, supersymmetric non-renormalization theorems, and summarize non-perturbative…
Imposing CP or P forces the QCD topological angle to be either $\bar\theta=0$ or $\bar\theta=\pi$. However, only the former is phenomenologically viable. This implies that the assumption of CP or P alone cannot provide a framework for…
The QCD Lagrangian contains a CP violating gluon density term with a physical coefficient $\bar{\theta}$. The upper bound on the electric dipole moment of neutron implies that the value of $\bar{\theta}$ should be extremely small rather…
We demonstrate that the observed cosmological excess of matter over antimatter may originate from a heavy QCD axion that solves the strong CP problem but has a mass much larger than that given by the Standard Model QCD strong dynamics. We…
We address the strong CP problem: why the physical QCD angle theta-bar must be extraordinarily small given the stringent bounds on the neutron electric dipole moment. Peccei-Quinn axion models can relax theta-bar dynamically, but rely on an…
We derive two features of axion cosmology that may have cosmological implications, whether or not axions are dark matter: For the full range of allowed axion masses, the evolution of a cosmic axion background allows large CP violation until…
We present recent results on the theta-dependence of four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theories, where theta is the coefficient of the CP-violating topological term in the Lagrangian. In particular, we study the scaling behavior of these…