Related papers: Is the Universal String Axion the QCD Axion?
We show that the required high quality of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry can be naturally explained in the aligned QCD axion models where the QCD axion arises from multiple axions with decay constants much smaller than the axion window, e.g.,…
Nonlinearly realized Abelian global symmetries can be reformulated as local shift symmetries gauged by three-form gauge fields. The anomalous symmetries of the Standard Model (such as Peccei-Quinn or $B+L$) can be dualized to local…
We study the formation and evolution of topological defects in an aligned axion model with multiple Peccei-Quinn scalars, where the QCD axion is realized by a certain combination of the axions with decay constants much smaller than the…
Motivated UV frameworks generically predict the existence of multiple axion fields. Their interplay gives rise to novel collective phenomena - including level crossings and the formation of string bundles - which modify the predicted mass…
We examine the possibility that the strong CP problem is solved by string-theoretic axions in strong-coupling limit of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory (M-theory). We first discuss some generic features of gauge kinetic functions in…
We argue that sufficiently complex grand unified theories involving extra strong intractions that confine at very short distances, may lead to a heavy axion solution of the CP problem of QCD. This axion may have a mass within accessible…
In supersymmetric theories, the Peccei-Quinn symmetry has a complex extension as a symmetry of the superpotential, so that the scalar potential always has an almost flat direction, the dilaton. We discuss how coherent oscillation of the…
Axions, periodic scalar fields coupled to gauge fields through the instanton density, have a rich variety of higher-form global symmetries. These include a two-form global symmetry, which measures the charge of axion strings. As we review,…
We study possibilities for lowering the decay constants of superstring axions. In the heterotic Calabi-Yau compactification, a localized model-dependent axion can appear at a nearly collapsing 2-cycle. The effect of flux can be used for…
We consider QCD axion models where the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is badly broken by a larger amount in the past than in the present, in order to avoid the axion isocurvature problem. Specifically we study supersymmetric axion models where the…
We construct a string-inspired model, motivated by the flavored Peccei-Quinn (PQ) axions, as a useful bridge between flavor physics and string theory. The key feature is two anomalous gauged $U(1)$ symmetries, responsible for both the…
In this paper we initiate a broad study of some central properties of the string axiverse arising from Calabi-Yau compactifications of the perturbative heterotic $E_8\times E_8$ theory. Along this road toward a heterotic axiverse, we…
We investigate viable scenarios with various axions in the context of supersymmetric field theory and in globally consistent D-brane models. The Peccei-Quinn symmetry is associated with an anomalous U(1) symmetry, which acquires mass at the…
We study gaugino condensation in presence of an anomalous $U(1)$ gauge group and find that global supersymmetry is dynamically broken. An example of particular interest is provided by effective string models with 4-dimensional Green-Schwarz…
We study supersymmetry breaking by hidden-sector gaugino condensation in N=1 D=4 supergravity models with multiple dilaton-like moduli fields. Our work is motivated by Type I string theory, in which the low-energy effective Lagrangian can…
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…
We present a novel framework of the post-inflationary composite axion to address the strong CP problem without the cosmological domain wall problem. Conventional composite axion models lead to the domain wall number greater than one,…
We implement the scenario of early relaxation of the axion via a high scale confinement within $SU(5)$ grand unified theory and study an epoch of strong QCD in inflationary cosmology. We consider scenarios in which, during inflation, the…
We propose an efficient mechanism to realize an invisible axion from a low scale Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking. Our basic model only contains a gauge boson, an up-type vector-like quark, two Higgs doublets and two Higgs singlets besides…
We study effective theories of an axion in spontaneously broken supersymmetric theories. We consider a system where the axion supermultiplet is directly coupled to a supersymmetry breaking sector whereas the standard model sector is…