Axion Models Research Articles

Holographic axion model: A simple gravitational tool for quantum matter

This is a complete and exhaustive review on the so-called holographic axion model -- a bottom-up holographic system characterized by the presence of a set of shift symmetric scalar bulk fields whose profiles are taken to be linear in the spatial coordinates. This simple model implements the breaking of translational invariance of the dual field theory by retaining the homogeneity of the background geometry and therefore allowing for controllable and fast computations. The usages of this model are very vast and they are a proof of the spectacular versatility of the framework. In this review, we touch upon all the up-to-date aspects of this model from its connection with massive gravity and effective field theories, to its role in modeling momentum dissipation and elastic properties ending with all the phenomenological features and its hydrodynamic description. In summary, this is a complete guide to one of the most used model in Applied Holography and a must-read for any researcher entering this field.

Tale of two- U(1) axion models

The $U(1)$ global symmetry to solve the strong $CP$ problem could be the remnant of multi-$U(1)$ symmetries from QCD and hidden strong dynamics. Both Peccei-Quinn $U(1)$ and dynamical $U(1)$ are described uniformly, based on which we classify various mixed two-$U(1)$ models to solve both strong $CP$ and quality problems. We propose a moose diagram method with different fermion assignments to directly read relations between $CP$ phases, which illustrate how strong $CP$ problem is solved in terms of cancellation between $CP$ phases. In two axion models, we find the lightest axion is still same as QCD axion at infrared region, while one axion model with $Z_2$ symmetry enhances the axion mass spectrum. Our discussions can be extended to multi-axion cases.

On stability of fermionic superconducting current in cosmic string

Recently, the chiral superconductivity of the cosmic string in the axion model has gathered attention. The superconductive nature can alter the standard understanding of the cosmology of the axion model. For example, a string loop with a sizable super-conducting current can become a stable configuration, which is called a Vorton. The superconductive nature can also affect the cosmological evolution of the string network. In this paper, we study the stability of the superconducting current in the string. We find the superconductivity is indeed stable for a straight string or infinitely small string core size, even if the carrier particles are unstable in the vacuum. However we also find that the carrier particle decays in a curved string in typical axion models, if the carrier particles are unstable in the vacuum. Accordingly, the lifetime of the Vorton is not far from that of the carrier particle in the vacuum.

Nonlinear cosmological structure with ultralight bosons via modified gravity

Ultra-light bosons as dark matter has become a model of major interest in Cosmology, due to the possible imprint of a distinct signature in the cosmic structure both at the linear and non-linear scales. In this work we show that the equations of motion for density perturbations for this kind of models can be written in terms of a modified gravitational potential. Taking advantage of this parallelism, we use the MG-PICOLA code originally developed for modified gravity models to evolve the density field of axion models with and without self-interaction. Our results indicate that the quantum potential adds extra suppression of power at the non-linear level, and it is even capable of smoothing any bumpy features initially present in the mass power spectrum.

Structure of flavor changing Goldstone boson interactions

General flavor changing Goldstone boson (GB) interactions with fermions from a spontaneous global U(1)G symmetry breaking are discussed. This GB may be the Axion, solving the strong QCD CP problem, if there is a QCD anomaly for the assignments of quarks U(1)G charge. Or it may be the Majoron, producing seesaw Majorana neutrino masses by lepton number violation, if the symmetry breaking scale is much higher than the electroweak scale. It may also, in principle, play the roles of Axion and Majoron simultaneously as far as providing solution for the strong CP problem and generating a small Majorana neutrino masses are concerned. Great attentions have been focused on flavor conserving GB interactions. Recently flavor changing Axion and Majoron models have been studied in the hope to find new physics from rare decays in the intensity frontier. In this work, we will provide a systematic model building aspect study for flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) GB interactions in the fermion sectors, or separately in the quark, charged lepton and neutrino sectors and will identify in detail the sources of FCNC interactions in a class of beyond standard model with a spontaneous global U(1)G symmetry breaking. We also provide a general proof of the equivalence of using physical GB components and GB broken generators for calculating GB couplings to two gluons and two photons, and discuss some issues related to spontaneous CP violation models. Besides, we will also provide some details for obtaining FCNC GB interactions in several popular models, such as the Type-I, -II, -III seesaw and Left-Right symmetric models, and point out some special features in these models.

Flavoured warped axion

We consider a 5D extension of the DFSZ axion model that addresses both the axion quality and fermion mass hierarchy problems, and predicts flavour-dependent, off-diagonal axion-fermion couplings. The axion is part of a 5D complex scalar field charged under a U(1)PQ symmetry that is spontaneously broken in the bulk, and is insensitive to explicit PQ breaking on the UV boundary. Bulk Standard Model fermions interact with two Higgs doublets that can be localized on the UV boundary or propagate in the bulk to explain the fermion masses and mixings. When the Higgs doublets are localized on the UV boundary, they induce flavour diagonal couplings between the fermions and the axion. However, when the Higgs doublets propagate in the bulk, the overlap of the axion and fermion profiles generates flavour off-diagonal couplings. The effective scale of these off-diagonal couplings in both the quark and lepton sectors can be as small as 1011 GeV, and therefore will be probed in future precision flavour experiments.

Sun heated MeV-scale dark matter and the XENON1T electron recoil excess

The XENON1T collaboration reported an excess of the low-energy electron recoil events between 1 and 7 keV. We explore the possibility to explain such an anomaly by the MeV-scale dark matter (DM) heated by the interior of the Sun due to the same DM-electron interaction as in the detector. The kinetic energies of heated DM particles can reach a few keV, and can potentially account for the excess signals detected by XENON1T. We study different form factors of the DM-electron interactions, F(q) ∝ qi with q being the momentum exchange and i = 0, 1, 2, and find that for all these cases the inclusion of the Sun-heated DM component improves the fit to the XENON1T data. The inferred DM-electron scattering cross section (at q = αme where α is the fine structure constant and me is electron mass) is from ∼ 10−38 cm2 (for i = 0) to ∼ 10−42 cm2 (for i = 2). We also derive constraints on the DM-electron cross sections for these form factors, which are stronger than previous results with similar assumptions. We emphasize that the Sun-heated DM scenario relies on the minimum assumption on DM models, which serves as a general explanation of the XENON1T anomaly via DM-electron interaction. The spectrum of the Sun-heated DM is typically soft comparing to other boosted DM, so the small recoil events are expected to be abundant in this scenario. More sensitive direct detection experiments with lower thresholds can possibly distinguish this scenario with other boosted DM models or solar axion models.

A natural and simple UV completion of the QCD axion model

The novel PQ mechanism replaces the strong CP problem with some challenges in a model building. In particular, the challenges arise regarding i) the origin of an anomalous global symmetry called a PQ symmetry, ii) the scale of the PQ symmetry breaking, and iii) the quality of the PQ symmetry. In this letter, we provide a natural and simple UV completed model that addresses these challenges. Extra quarks and anti-quarks are separated by two branes in the Randall-Sundrum R4×S1/Z2 spacetime while a hidden SU(NH) gauge field condensates in the bulk. The brane separation is the origin of the PQ symmetry and its breaking scale is given by the dynamical scale of the SU(NH) gauge interaction. The (generalized) Casimir force of SU(NH) condensation stabilizes the 5th dimension, which guarantees the quality of the PQ symmetry.

A detailed exploration of the EDGES 21cm absorption anomaly and axion-induced cooling

The EDGES collaboration’s observation of an anomalously strong 21 cm absorption feature around the cosmic dawn era has energised the cosmological community by suggesting a novel signature of dark matter in the cooling of cosmic hydrogen. In a recent paper, we have argued that by virtue of the ability to mediate cooling processes whilst in the condensed phase, a small amount of axion dark matter can explain these observations within the context of Standard Models of axions and axion-like particles. These axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) can thermalise through gravitational self-interactions and so eventually form a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC), whereupon large-scale long-range correlation can produce experimentally observable signals such as these. In this context, the EDGES best-fit result favours an ALP mass in the (6, 400) meV range. Future experiments and galaxy surveys, particularly the International Axion Observatory (IAXO) and EUCLID, should have the capability to directly test this scenario. In this paper, we will explore this mechanism in detail and give more thorough computational details of certain key points.

Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky axion in the CMB

We perform for the first time a dedicated analysis of cosmological constraints on DFSZ QCD axion models. Such constructions are especially interesting in light of the recent Xenon-1T excess and of hints from stellar cooling. In DFSZ models, for $m_a\gtrsim 0.1$ eV, scatterings of pions and muons can produce a sizable cosmic background of thermal axions, that behave similarly to massive neutrinos. However, the pion coupling depends on the alignment between the vevs of two Higgs doublets, and can be significantly suppressed or enhanced with respect to the KSVZ scenario. Using the latest Planck and BAO data, we find $m_a\leq 0.2~\text{eV}$ at $95\%$ C.L., when the axion coupling to pions $c_{a\pi}$ is maximal. Constraints on $m_a$, instead, can be significantly relaxed when $c_{a\pi}$ is small. In particular, we point out that in the so-called DFSZ-II model, where the axion coupling to leptons does not vanish simultaneously with $c_{a\pi}$, production via muons gives $m_a\leq 0.6~\text{eV}$ at $95\%$ C.L., whereas in the DFSZ-I model bounds on $m_a$ can be fully lifted. We then combine cosmological data with recent hints of a DFSZ axion coupled to electrons from the Xenon-1T experiment, finding in this case that the axion mass is constrained to be in the window $0.07 ~\text{eV} \lesssim m_a \lesssim 1.8\, (0.3)~\text{eV}$ for the DFSZ-I (DFSZ-II) model. A similar analysis with stellar cooling hints gives $3 ~\text{meV} \lesssim m_a \lesssim 0.2 ~\text{eV}$ for DFSZ-II, while no constraint arises in the DFSZ-I case. Forthcoming CMB Stage 4 experiments will be able to further test such scenarios; for instance the Xenon-1T window should be fully probed at $2\sigma$ for a DFSZ-I axion.

Analysis of dark matter based on space physics

Cosmological observations indicate that most of the matter in the universe is dark matter. Dark matter is neither ordinary baryonic matter, nor composed of any known particles of the standard model. It does not interact electromagnetically but does interact via gravity that affects various aspects of the structure of the universe. Three complementary methods including direct detection, indirect detection and manmade dark matter in laboratory were applied by astronomers to identify dark matter. Meanwhile, some models such as axion and supersymmetric standard model were proposed to satisfy the existing observations. The nature of dark matter is still a mystery. This paper briefly introduced the background information of discovery of dark matter, and summarized the latest development of dark matter detection in recent years and the model theories of dark matter. It also discussed the current understanding of dark matter and dark energy.

Selective enhancement of the QCD axion couplings

We present a mechanism wherein the QCD axion coupling to nucleons, photons, or electrons, can be enhanced selectively without increasing the axion mass. We focus in particular on the axion-nucleon couplings, that are generally considered to be largely model-independent, and we show how nucleophilic axion models can be constructed. We discuss the implications of a nucleophilic axion for astrophysics, cosmology and laboratory searches. We present a model with enhanced axion couplings to nucleons and photons that can provide an excellent fit to the anomalous emission of hard X-rays recently observed from a group of nearby neutron stars, and we argue that such a scenario can be thoroughly tested in forthcoming axion-search experiments.

Probing photophobic axion and relaxion dark matter

We investigate the interplay between early universe cosmology and dark matter direct detection, considering axion models with naturally suppressed couplings to photons. In the context of the cosmological relaxation of the electroweak scale, we focus on a scenario of \emph{Relaxion Dark Matter}, in which the relaxion field constitutes all the observed dark matter relic density and its allowed mass range is fixed to a few $\mathrm{keV}$ by construction. In particular, we show that a relaxion particle with mass $m_\phi= 3.0 \,\mathrm{keV}$ which couples to electrons with $g_{\phi, e}= 6.8 \times 10^{-14}$ is consistent with the XENON1T excess, while accounting for the observed dark matter and satisfying astro/cosmo probes. This scenario uses the electroweak scale as the link connecting the relaxion production at early times with the dark matter absorption rate in direct detection.

Opening the 1 Hz axion window

An axion-like particle (ALP) with mass mϕ ∼ 10−15 eV oscillates with frequency ∼1 Hz. This mass scale lies in an open window of astrophysical constraints, and appears naturally as a consequence of grand unification (GUT) in string/M-theory. However, with a GUT-scale decay constant such an ALP overcloses the Universe, and cannot solve the strong CP problem. In this paper, we present a two axion model in which the 1 Hz ALP constitutes the entirety of the dark matter (DM) while the QCD axion solves the strong CP problem but contributes negligibly to the DM relic density. The mechanism to achieve the correct relic densities relies on low-scale inflation (mϕ ≲ Hinf ≲ 1 MeV), and we present explicit realisations of such a model. The scale in the axion potential leading to the 1 Hz axion generates a value for the strong CP phase which oscillates around {overline{theta}}_{mathrm{QCD}}sim {10}^{-12} , within reach of the proton storage ring electric dipole moment experiment. The 1 Hz axion is also in reach of near future laboratory and astrophysical searches.

Exploring new physics with O(keV) electron recoils in direct detection experiments

Motivated by the recent XENON1T results, we explore various new physics models that can be discovered through searches for electron recoils in mathcal{O} (keV)-threshold direct-detection experiments. First, we consider the absorption of axion-like particles, dark photons, and scalars, either as dark matter relics or being produced directly in the Sun. In the latter case, we find that keV mass bosons produced in the Sun provide an adequate fit to the data but are excluded by stellar cooling constraints. We address this tension by introducing a novel Chameleon-like axion model, which can explain the excess while evading the stellar bounds. We find that absorption of bosonic dark matter provides a viable explanation for the excess only if the dark matter is a dark photon or an axion. In the latter case, photophobic axion couplings are necessary to avoid X-ray constraints. Second, we analyze models of dark matter-electron scattering to determine which models might explain the excess. Standard scattering of dark matter with electrons is generically in conflict with data from lower-threshold experiments. Momentum-dependent interactions with a heavy mediator can fit the data with dark matter mass heavier than a GeV but are generically in tension with collider constraints. Next, we consider dark matter consisting of two (or more) states that have a small mass splitting. The exothermic (down)scattering of the heavier state to the lighter state can fit the data for keV mass splittings. Finally, we consider a subcomponent of dark matter that is accelerated by scattering off cosmic rays, finding that dark matter interacting though an mathcal{O} (100 keV)-mass mediator can fit the data. The cross sections required in this scenario are, however, typically challenged by complementary probes of the light mediator. Throughout our study, we implement an unbinned Monte Carlo analysis and use an improved energy reconstruction of the XENON1T events.

X-Ray Searches for Axions from Super Star Clusters

Axions may be produced in abundance inside stellar cores and then convert into observable x rays in the Galactic magnetic fields. We focus on the Quintuplet and Westerlund 1 super star clusters, which host large numbers of hot, young stars including Wolf-Rayet stars; these stars produce axions efficiently through the axion-photon coupling. We use Galactic magnetic field models to calculate the expected x-ray flux locally from axions emitted from these clusters. We then combine the axion model predictions with archival Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) data from 10-80keV to search for evidence of axions. We find no significant evidence for axions and constrain the axion-photon coupling g_{aγγ}≲3.6×10^{-12} GeV^{-1} for masses m_{a}≲5×10^{-11} eV at 95% confidence.

Gravitational waves from fundamental axion dynamics

A totally asymptotically free QCD axion model, where all couplings flow to zero in the infinite energy limit, was recently formulated. A very interesting feature of this fundamental theory is the ability to predict some low-energy observables, like the masses of the extra fermions and scalars. Here we find and investigate a region of the parameter space where the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is broken quantum mechanically through the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism. This results in an even more predictive framework: the axion sector features only two independent parameters (the PQ symmetry breaking scale and the QCD gauge coupling). In particular, we show that the PQ phase transition is strongly first order and can produce gravitational waves within the reach of future detectors. The predictivity of the model leads to a rigid dependence of the phase transition (like its duration and the nucleation temperature) and the gravitational wave spectrum on the PQ symmetry breaking scale and the QCD gauge coupling.

Common origin of warm dark matter and dark radiation

We consider a cosmological scenario where a relativistic particle and a stable massive particle are simultaneously produced from the decay of a late-decaying particle after Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis but before matter-radiation equality. The relativistic and massive particles behave as dark radiation and warm dark matter, respectively. Due to a common origin, the warmness and abundances are closely related. We refer to the models that lead to such a scenario as Common Origin of Warm and Relativistic Decay Products (COWaRD) . We show that COWaRD predicts a correlation between the amount of dark radiation and suppression of the large scale structure, which can be tested in future precision cosmology observations. We demonstrate that COWaRD is realized, as an example, in a class of supersymmetric axion models and that future observations by the next generation Cosmic Microwave Background, Large Scale Structure, and 21-cm surveys can reveal the structure of the theory.

Fuzzy Dark Matter from Clockwork Axion Model

We consider in the clockwork axion model the realization of an ultralight axion which can serve as a fuzzy dark matter candidate. With the mixing terms between adjacent axions, the shift symmetries are broken except for one, which is responsible for the ultralight axion and its mass can be as light as 10−21 eV. This ultralight axion can satisfy easily the observed dark matter abundance and the isocurvature bound. The heavier axions resulting from the clockwork gears quickly decay before the big bang nucleosynthesis.

Intensity mapping as a probe of axion dark matter

ABSTRACT We consider intensity mapping (IM) of neutral hydrogen (H i) in the redshift range 0 ≲ z ≲ 3 employing a halo model approach where H i is assumed to follow the distribution of dark matter (DM) haloes. If a portion of the DM is composed of ultralight axions, then the abundance of haloes is changed compared to cold DM below the axion Jeans mass. With fixed total H i density, $\Omega _{\rm H\, \rm {\small I}}$, assumed to reside entirely in haloes, this effect introduces a scale-independent increase in the H i power spectrum on scales above the axion Jeans scale, which our model predicts consistent with N-body simulations. Lighter axions introduce a scale-dependent feature even on linear scales due to its suppression of the matter power spectrum near the Jeans scale. We use the Fisher matrix formalism to forecast the ability of future H i surveys to constrain the axion fraction of DM and marginalize over astrophysical and model uncertainties. We find that a HIRAX-like survey is a very reliable IM survey configuration, being affected minimally by uncertainties due to non-linear scales, while the SKA1MID configuration is the most constraining as it is sensitive to non-linear scales. Including non-linear scales and combining a SKA1MID-like IM survey with the Simons Observatory CMB, the benchmark ‘fuzzy DM’ model with ma = 10−22 eV can be constrained at few per cent. This is almost an order of magnitude improvement over current limits from the Ly α forest. For lighter ULAs, this limit improves below 1 per cent, and allows the possibility to test the connection between axion models and the grand unification scale across a wide range of masses.