Related papers: Is the Universal String Axion the QCD Axion?
The weakly-coupled heterotic string is known to have problems of dilaton/moduli stabilization, supersymmetry breaking (by hidden-sector gaugino condensation), gauge coupling unification (or the Newton's constant), QCD axion, as well as…
String theoretic axion is a prime candidate for the QCD axion solving the strong CP problem. For a successful realization of the QCD axion in string theory, one needs to stabilize moduli including the scalar partner (saxion) of the QCD…
In the effective field theory framework, we consider the effect of supersymmetry breaking via gaugino condensation and supergravity in the hidden sector gauge group on the hidden sector vacuum angle $\theta_h$. The $\theta_h$ parameter…
The topological susceptibility of the QCD vacuum provides an understanding of $\theta$-vacua as vacua of a Chern-Simons gauge theory. In this way, it gives an immediate proof of the physicality of the boundary $\theta$-term. This makes the…
The QCD axion solving the strong CP problem may originate from antisymmetric tensor gauge fields in compactified string theory, with a decay constant around the GUT scale. Such possibility appears to be ruled out now by the detection of…
Some recent developments in the weakly-coupled heterotic string phenomenology are reviewed. We discuss several important issues such as dilaton/moduli stabilization, supersymmetry breaking (by hidden-sector gaugino condensation), gauge…
Inspired by recent studies of high-scale decay constant or flavorful QCD axions, we review and clarify their existence in effective string models with anomalous $U(1)$ gauge groups. We find that such models, when coupled to charged scalars…
The QCD axion can successfully solve the strong CP problem under the condition that the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is respected to extremely high standard. We explore a class of gauge theories that accommodate a high-quality axion, known as the…
The axion solution to the strong CP problem makes use of a global Peccei-Quinn U(1) symmetry which is susceptible to violations from quantum gravitational effects. We show how discrete gauge symmetries can protect the axion from such…
Composite axion scenarios offer a robust field theoretic justification for the existence of a Peccei-Quinn symmetry of high quality. We present a new class of realizations that are naturally embedded in Grand-Unified Theories, retain…
Similarities between the gauge meditation of supersymmetry breaking and the QCD axion model suggest that they originate from the same dynamics. We present a class of models where supersymmetry and the Peccei-Quinn symmetry are…
We explore the possibility that supersymmetry breaking is mediated to the Standard Model sector through the interactions of a generalized axion multiplet that gains a F-term expectation value. Using an effective field theory framework we…
The discovery of an axion-like particle above the QCD line would rule out Grand Unified Theories, including the perturbative heterotic string with the Standard Model embedded in a single $E_8$ factor or $SO(32)$. In this work we study a…
In the context of the field theory limit of superstrings, we consider an almost realistic model of supersymmetry breaking by gaugino condensation which includes, through nonperturbative corrections to the K\"ahler potential, dilaton…
Conventionally, the strong-$CP$ problem is assumed to be a naturalness puzzle, with the axion solution sometimes viewed as an ad hoc fix. Gravity is either ignored or taken as a threat for the global Peccei-Quinn symmetry. We explain that…
We propose an ${\rm SU}(6)$ unified theory that solves the strong ${\it CP}$ problem with a high-quality axion. This is achieved by an automatic global Peccei-Quinn ${\rm U}(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry and the gauged discrete $\mathbb{Z}_{4{\cal…
We study the coupling of axions to gauge bosons in heterotic string theory. The axion-gauge boson couplings in the low energy 4d theory are derived by matching mixed anomalies between higher-form global symmetries and the zero-form gauge…
The heterotic string compactified on a six-torus is described by a low-energy effective action consisting of N=4 supergravity coupled to N=4 super Yang-Mills, a theory that was studied in detail many years ago. By explicitly carrying out…
Axions, grand unification, and string theory are each compelling extensions of the Standard Model. We show that combining these frameworks imposes strong constraints on the QCD axion mass. Using unitarity arguments and explicit string…
Various theoretical and experimental considerations motivate models with high scale supersymmetry breaking. While such models may be difficult to test in colliders, we propose looking for signatures at much lower energies. We show that a…