Related papers: QCD, Strong CP and Axions
The topological structure of vacuum is the cornerstone of non-Abelian gauge theories describing strong and electroweak interactions within the standard model of particle physics. However, transitions between different topological sectors of…
We consider the low energy realization of QCD in terms of meson fields when an axial chemical potential is present; a situation that may be relevant in heavy ion collisions. We shall demonstrate that the presence of an axial charge…
We consider a dark matter (DM) model offering a very natural explanation of the observed relation, $\Omega_{\rm dark} \sim \Omega_{\rm visible}$. This generic consequence of the model is a result of the common origin of both types of matter…
The QCD axion can be be formulated in a dual description as a massive 2-form field. In this picture, the QCD axion quality problem translates into the question if there are additional 3-forms coupled to the axion other than the QCD 3-form…
In the context of string theory, axions appear to provide the most plausible solution of the strong CP problem. However, as has been known for a long time, in many string-based models, the axion coupling parameter F_a is several orders of…
We formulate general conditions under which the strong CP problem is solved by spontaneous CP violation. Quark-mass matrix elements are polynomials in the CP-breaking order parameters, engineered such that their determinant is a real…
The serious cosmological problems created by the axion-string/axion-domain-wall system in standard axion models are alleviated by positing the existence of a new confining force. The instantons of this force can generate an axion potential…
The presence of dark matter provides some of the most tangible evidence for the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model. One compelling dark matter candidate is the axion, a light boson that was originally postulated as a solution to…
We study QCD axion or cosmological axion-like particles (ALPs) in a model inspired by the recent interest in 4-dimensional clockwork models, with the global symmetry being accidentally enforced by a gauge abelian quiver with scalar…
The QCD axion fails to solve the strong CP problem unless all explicit PQ violating, Planck-suppressed, dimension n<10 operators are forbidden or have exponentially small coefficients. We show that all theories with a QCD axion contain an…
The Strong CP Problem and its resolution through the existence of an axion are briefly reviewed. The combined constraints from accelerator searches, the evolution of red giants and the duration of the SN 1987a neutrino pulse require the…
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 study the mirror world with dark matter arising from the thermal freeze-out of the lightest, stable mirror particle -- the mirror electron. The dark matter abundance is achieved for mirror electrons of mass 225 GeV, fixing the mirror…
Heavy QCD axions are well-motivated extensions of the QCD axion that address the quality problem while still solving the strong CP problem. Owing to the gluon coupling, critical for solving the strong CP problem, these axions can be…
The Axion is a particle arising from the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong CP problem. Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking in the early universe could produce a large number of axions which would still be present today, making the axion a…
We consider a chiral gauge theory from which light composite Dirac neutrinos dynamically emerge, augmented by a QCD axion to solve the strong CP problem. We show that an interplay between the composite sector and the axion can also…
The axion is a highly motivated elementary particle which could address two fundamental questions in physics - the strong CP problem and the dark matter mystery. Experimental searches for this hypothetical particle have started to reach…
We propose a solution to the strong CP problem that specifically relies on massless quarks and has no light axion. The QCD color group $SU(3)_c$ is embedded into a larger, simple gauge group (grand-color) where one of the massless, colored…
The axion solution to the strong CP problem is delicately sensitive to Peccei-Quinn breaking contributions that are misaligned with respect to QCD instantons. Heavy QCD axion models are appealing because they avoid this so-called "quality…
Axion-mediated forces are enhanced by the presence of CP-violating axion couplings, which are however tightly constrained by electric dipole moment (EDM) searches. We discuss the underlying hypotheses behind different sources of CP…