Search

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 fermions enjoys an anomalous chiral symmetry, rendering the strong CP phase unphysical. The grand-color gauge group $G_{\rm GC}$ is Higgsed down to $SU(3)_c\times G_{c'}$, after which $G_{c'}$ eventually confines at a lower scale, spontaneously breaking the chiral symmetry and generating a real, positive mass to the massless, colored fermion. Since the chiral symmetry has a $G_{c'}$ anomaly, there is no corresponding light Nambu-Goldstone boson. The anomalous chiral symmetry can be an accidental symmetry that arises from an exact discrete symmetry without introducing a domain wall problem. Potential experimental signals of our mechanism include vector-like quarks near the TeV scale, pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons below the 10 GeV scale, light dark matter decay, and primordial gravitational waves from the new strong dynamics., Comment: 62 pages, 12 figures

Gravitational-wave (GW) signals offer a unique window into the dynamics of the early universe. GWs may be generated by the topological defects produced in the early universe, which contain information on the symmetry of UV physics. We consider the case in which a two-step phase transition produces a network of domain walls bounded by cosmic strings. Specifically, we focus on the case in which there is a hierarchy in the symmetry-breaking scales, and a period of inflation pushes the cosmic string generated in the first phase transition outside the horizon before the second phase transition. We show that the GW signal from the evolution and collapse of this string-wall network has a unique spectrum, and the resulting signal strength can be sizeable. In particular, depending on the model parameters, the resulting signal can show up in a broad range of frequencies and can be discovered by a multitude of future probes, including the pulsar timing arrays and space- and ground-based GW observatories. As an example that naturally gives rise to this scenario, we present a model with the first phase transition followed by a brief period of thermal inflation driven by the field responsible for the second stage of symmetry breaking. The model can be embedded into a supersymmetric setup, which provides a natural realization of this scenario. In this case, the successful detection of the peak of the GW spectrum probes the soft supersymmetry breaking scale and the wall tension., Comment: 63 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables

We consider electroweak-charged dark matter in an $SO(10)$ unified theory that solves the strong $CP$ problem via Parity. Electroweak-charged dark matter has a colored $SO(10)$ partner, whose mass should be much above the dark matter mass to avoid cosmological problems arising from the decay of the colored partner. The mass hierarchy can be naturally achieved by an $SO(10)\times CP$ symmetry breaking Higgs that has a missing vacuum expectation value. The mass hierarchy, via quantum corrections to the gauge coupling constants, lowers the unification scale and enhances the proton decay rate. Hyper-Kamiokande will probe the parameter space with precise gauge coupling unification. We derive the range of the top quark mass and the strong coupling constant preferred by radiative Parity breaking by the Higgs Parity mechanism., Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures

We show that a rotating axion field that makes a transition from a matter-like equation of state to a kination-like equation of state around the epoch of recombination can significantly ameliorate the Hubble tension, i.e., the discrepancy between the determinations of the present-day expansion rate $H_0$ from observations of the cosmic microwave background on one hand and Type Ia supernovae on the other. We consider a specific, UV-complete model of such a rotating axion and find that it can relax the Hubble tension without exacerbating tensions in determinations of other cosmological parameters, in particular the amplitude of matter fluctuations $S_8$. We subsequently demonstrate how this rotating axion model can also generate the baryon asymmetry of our universe, by introducing a coupling of the axion field to right-handed neutrinos. This baryogenesis model predicts heavy neutral leptons that are most naturally within reach of future lepton colliders, but in finely-tuned regions of parameter space may also be accessible at the high-luminosity LHC and the beam dump experiment SHiP., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures

Hot axions are produced in the early Universe via their interactions with Standard Model particles, contributing to dark radiation commonly parameterized as $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$. In standard QCD axion benchmark models, this contribution to $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$ is negligible after taking into account astrophysical limits such as the SN1987A bound. We therefore compute the axion contribution to $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$ in so-called astrophobic axion models characterized by strongly suppressed axion couplings to nucleons and electrons, in which astrophysical constraints are relaxed and $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$ may be sizable. We also construct new astrophobic models in which axion couplings to photons and/or muons are suppressed as well, allowing for axion masses as large as few eV. Most astrophobic models are within the reach of CMB-S4, while some allow for $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$ as large as the current upper bound from Planck and thus will be probed by the Simons Observatory. The majority of astrophobic axion models predicting large $\Delta N_{\text{eff}}$ is also within the reach of IAXO or even BabyIAXO., Comment: 51 pages, 8 figures

We study lepto-axiogenesis in theories where the right-handed neutrino is light enough that its dynamics affect the determination of the baryon asymmetry. When compared with theories of high-scale lepto-axiogenesis where the Majorana neutrino mass may be treated as an effective dimension-five operator, we find that the predicted saxion mass is lower. Two distinct scenarios emerge. In the first, processes that generate the baryon asymmetry are in equilibrium down to the mass of the right-handed neutrino. In the second, the relevant processes never reach equilibrium; the baryon number freezes in. We comment on implications for supersymmetric spectra and discuss constraints on late decays of supersymmetric relics and from dark radiation. In contrast to high-scale lepto-axiogenesis, which predicts superpartners with masses of 10-100 TeV or more, we find this scenario is consistent with a wider range of superpartner masses, all the way down to current direct search bounds., Comment: 59 pages, 6 figures

The strong CP problem can be solved in Parity symmetric theories with electroweak gauge group containing $SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R$ broken by the minimal Higgs content. Neutrino masses may be explained by adding the same number of gauge singlet fermions as the number of generations. The neutrino masses vanish at tree-level and are only radiatively generated, leading to larger couplings of right-handed neutrinos to Standard Model particles than with the tree-level seesaw mechanism. We compute these radiative corrections and the mixing angles between left- and right-handed neutrinos. We discuss sensitivities to these right-handed neutrinos from a variety of future experiments that search for heavy neutral leptons with masses from tens of MeV to the multi-TeV scale., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures

Axion-like particles (ALPs) can be naturally lighter than the electroweak scale. We consider an ALP that couples to the Standard Model Higgs to achieve the strong first-order electroweak phase transition. We discuss the two-field dynamics of the phase transition and the associated computation in detail and identify the viable parameter space. The ALP mass can be from the MeV to GeV scale. Baryon asymmetry can be explained by local baryogenesis without violating the current electron and atom electric dipole moment bound in most of the viable parameter space. The viable parameter space can be probed through Higgs exotic decay, rare kaon decay, the electron and atomic electric dipole moment, and the effective number of neutrinos in the cosmic microwave background in the future. The gravitational-wave signal is too weak to be detected., Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures

The evidence of the stochastic gravitational-wave background around the nano-hertz frequency range was recently found by worldwide pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations. One of the cosmological explanations is the gravitational waves induced by enhanced curvature perturbations, but the issue of primordial black hole (PBH) overproduction in this scenario was pointed out in the literature. Motivated by this issue and the $\Omega_\text{GW} \sim f^2$ scaling suggested by the data, we study the gravitational waves induced in a cosmological epoch dominated by a stiff fluid ($w=1$) and find that they can safely explain the PTA data well without PBH overproduction., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, v2: published version, minor revision

We study the simplest theories with exact spacetime parity that solve the strong CP problem and successfully generate the cosmological baryon asymmetry via decays of right-handed neutrinos. Lower bounds are derived for the masses of the right-handed neutrinos and for the scale of spontaneous parity breaking, $v_R$. For generic thermal leptogenesis, $v_R \gtrsim 10^{12}$ GeV, unless the small observed neutrino masses arise from fine-tuning. We compute $v_R$ in terms of the top quark mass, the QCD coupling, and the Higgs boson mass and find this bound is consistent with current data at $1 \sigma$. Future precision measurements of these parameters may provide support for the theory or, if $v_R$ is determined to be below $10^{12}$ GeV, force modifications. However, modified cosmologies do not easily allow reductions in $v_R$ -- no reduction is possible if leptogenesis occurs in the collisions of domain walls formed at parity breaking, and at most a factor 10 reduction is possible with non-thermal leptogenesis. Standard Model parameters that yield low values for $v_R$ can only be accommodated by having a high degree of degeneracy among the right-handed neutrinos involved in leptogenesis. If future precision measurements determine $v_R$ to be above $10^{12}$ GeV, it is likely that higher-dimensional operators of the theory will yield a neutron electric dipole moment accessible to ongoing experiments. This is especially true in a simple UV completion of the neutrino sector, involving gauge singlet fermions, where the bound from successful leptogenesis is strengthened to $v_R \gtrsim 10^{13}$ GeV., Comment: 41 pages, 12 figures

We examine how different assumptions about the hadronic vacuum polarization, the $W$ boson mass, and the forward-backward asymmetry in $b$-quarks at the $Z$ pole can impact the precision electroweak fit. We study the implications for a kinetically mixed dark photon, addressing the complementarity of precision bounds and direct searches, particularly in the case where the dark photon can decay into the dark sector, and we consider implications for future Large Hadron Collider searches. We comment on cases where the precision effects of the dark photon may not be well-described by the oblique parameters., Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures; References added, typos corrected, analysis updated to include more recent experimental measurements; Dark photon parameter space is largely unchanged

Rotations of axion fields in the early universe can produce dark matter and the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. We point out that the rotation can generate an observable amount of a stochastic gravitational-wave (GW) background. It can be doubly enhanced in a class of models in which the equation of state of the rotations rapidly changes from a non-relativistic matter-like one to a kination-like one by 1) the so-called poltergeist mechanism and 2) slower redshift of GWs compared to the axion kination fluid. In supersymmetric UV completion, future GW observations can probe the supersymmetry-breaking scale up to $10^7\,$GeV even if the axion does not directly couple to the Standard Model fields., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures (Supplemental Material: 13 pages, 3 figures), v2: version published in PRD letter (except for the title). minor revision

We consider a supersymmetric mirror Twin Higgs model in a gravity-mediated supersymmetry-breaking scenario. We point out that the Polonyi field can be odd under the $Z_{2}$ symmetry exchanging the Standard Model with the mirror sector while gaugino masses are generated at tree-level. We discuss the dynamics of the Polonyi field during and after inflation and show that the Polonyi problem is absent. The Polonyi field couples to the two sectors with opposite signs, which may serve as origin of the $Z_{2}$-breaking of the Higgs potential in Twin Higgs models. We also estimate the $Z_2$-breaking in soft masses of supersymmetric particles., Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

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 electroweak scale near $10^8$ GeV. This highly predictive scenario is realized by an axion that acts as a portal between the two sectors through its coupling to the QCD and mirror QCD sectors. The axion is more massive than the standard QCD axion due to additional contributions from mirror strong dynamics. Still, the strong CP problem is solved by this "heavy" axion due to the alignment of the QCD and mirror QCD potentials. Mirror entropy is transferred into the Standard Model sector via the axion portal, which alleviates overproduction of dark radiation from mirror glueball decays. This mirror scenario has a variety of signals: (1) primordial gravitational waves from the first-order mirror QCD phase transition occurring at a temperature near 35 GeV, (2) effects on large-scale structure from dark matter self-interactions from mirror QED, (3) dark radiation affecting the cosmic microwave background, and (4) the rare kaon decay, $K^+ \rightarrow (\pi^+ + \rm{axion})$. The first two signals do not depend on any fundamental free parameters of the theory while the latter two depend on a single free parameter, the axion decay constant., Comment: 35 pages, 9 figures

We present a QCD axion model where the couplings of the axion to nucleons, electrons, and muons are naturally suppressed because of the appropriate choice of the Peccei-Quinn charges of the Standard Model fermions. We reexamine next-to-leading order corrections to the couplings of the axion with nucleons and photons and show that the axion decay constant may be as small as $10^7$ GeV. It is also possible to suppress the coupling with the photon so that the decay constant is even smaller and minimal axiogenesis works. In this scenario, the axion has a mass above 1 eV and may be directly detected via absorption of axion dark matter. Flavor-violating axion couplings are generically predicted in our model, but we show that they may be naturally and sufficiently suppressed. We discuss the implications of the hints for anomalous cooling in several stellar environments to our model., Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures

Generating axion dark matter through the kinetic misalignment mechanism implies the generation of large asymmetries for Standard Model fermions in the early universe. Even if these asymmetries are washed out at later times, they can trigger a chiral plasma instability in the early universe. Similarly, a direct coupling of the axion with the hypercharge gauge field can trigger a tachyonic instability. These instabilities produce helical magnetic fields, which are preserved until the electroweak phase transition. At the electroweak phase transition, these become a source of baryon asymmetry, which can be much more efficient than the original axiogenesis proposal. We discuss constraints on axion dark matter production from the overproduction of the baryon asymmetry as well as a minimal, albeit fine-tuned setup, where both the correct dark matter abundance and baryon asymmetry can be achieved. For a given axion decay constant, this leads to a sharp prediction for the mass of the radial direction of the Peccei Quinn field, which is a soft mass scale in supersymmetric theories., Comment: 29 pages + references, 5 figures

We consider the scenario in which the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking is followed by a period of inflation. A particularly interesting case is that the string-domain wall network produced by the symmetry breaking enters the horizon after the QCD phase transition. We show that the abundance of axions produced by such a string-domain wall network is counterintuitively much larger than the conventional post-inflationary Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking scenario. As a result, a scenario with the axion decay constant even as low as the astrophysical bound of about $10^8$ GeV can explain the observed abundance of dark matter. The axion mini-halos produced from the string-domain wall network is much more massive than the conventional scenario. We also briefly discuss models which can realize this scenario such as a Peccei-Quinn phase transition during inflation or a second inflation after a Peccei-Quinn phase transition., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

Space-time parity can solve the strong CP problem and introduces a spontaneously broken $SU(2)_R$ gauge symmetry. We investigate the possibility of baryogenesis from a first-order $SU(2)_R$ phase transition similar to electroweak baryogenesis. We consider a model with the minimal Higgs content, for which the strong CP problem is indeed solved without introducing extra symmetry beyond parity. Although the parity symmetry seems to forbid the $SU(2)_R$ anomaly of the $B-L$ symmetry, the structure of the fermion masses can allow for the $SU(2)_R$ sphaleron process to produce non-zero $B-L$ asymmetry of Standard Model particles so that the wash out by the $SU(2)_L$ sphaleron process is avoided. The setup predicts a new hyper-charged fermion whose mass is correlated with the $SU(2)_R$ symmetry breaking scale and hence with the $SU(2)_R$ gauge boson mass, and depending on the origin of CP violation, with an electron electric dipole moment. In a setup where CP violation and the first-order phase transition are assisted by a singlet scalar field, the singlet can be searched for at future colliders., Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures

We summarize the state of Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) model building in particle physics for Snowmass 2021, focusing mainly on several whitepaper contributions to BSM model building (TF08) and closely related areas., Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to the Proceedings of the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021). Topical Group Report for TF08 - BSM Model Building

We summarize progress made in theoretical astrophysics and cosmology over the past decade and areas of interest for the coming decade. This Report is prepared as the TF09 "Astrophysics and Cosmology" topical group summary for the Theory Frontier as part of the Snowmass 2021 process., Comment: 57 pages

If the Peccei-Quinn field containing the QCD axion undergoes rotations in the early universe, the dimension-five operator responsible for neutrino masses can generate a lepton asymmetry that ultimately gives rise to the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. This lepto-axiogenesis scenario requires a flat potential for the radial direction of the Peccei-Quinn field, naturally realized in supersymmetric models. We carefully compute the efficiency of this mechanism for the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky (DFSZ) and Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov (KSVZ) axion models and place lower bounds on the masses of scalar superpartners required to reproduce the observed baryon asymmetry. For the KSVZ model, we find an efficiency for generation of the asymmetry six times larger than the previously extant computation after including scattering channels involving superpartners. In this case, the superpartner scale should be above $\sim$ 30 TeV for a domain wall number of one; the lower bound weakens for larger domain wall numbers. We find that the superpartner mass scale may also be as low as 30 TeV for the DFSZ model. In all cases, the lower bound on the superpartner masses is inversely proportional to the sum of the squares of the neutrino masses and so can strengthen as the upper bound on the neutrino mass improves. We identify the parameter space where the axion rotation can simultaneously produce axion dark matter via kinetic misalignment; in this case it is possible to put an upper bound of order PeV on the masses of scalar superpartners., Comment: 59 pages, 9 figures

We investigate a minimal singlet-scalar extension to the Standard Model that achieves a strong first-order electroweak phase transition. The singlet can be naturally light because of an approximate shift symmetry and no extra hierarchy problem beyond that of the Standard Model Higgs is introduced. We discuss the two-field dynamics of the phase transition in detail and find that the gravitational-wave signal is too weak to be detected by near-future observations. We also discuss the meta-stability of the zero-temperature scalar potential. Despite the apparent instability just above the electroweak scale, we show that the lifetime of the electroweak vacuum is much longer than the age of the universe and hence the setup does not require UV completion near the electroweak scale. The baryon asymmetry of the universe may be explained by local electroweak baryogenesis arising from a coupling between the singlet and weak gauge boson. The predicted electron electric dipole moment is much below the current bound. The viable parameter space can be probed by the observations of rare Kaon decay and the cosmic microwave background., Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures

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 investigate a rotation of the heavy QCD axion in field space, which is transferred into a baryon asymmetry through weak and strong sphaleron processes. This provides a strong cosmological motivation for heavy QCD axions, which are of high experimental interest. The viable parameter space has an axion mass $m_a$ between 1~MeV and 10 GeV and a decay constant $f_a < 10^5$ GeV, which can be probed by accelerator-based direct axion searches and observations of the cosmic microwave background., Comment: 37 pages, 6 figures

The naturalness problem of PQ symmetry motivates study of the heavy QCD axion, with masses $m_a >$ 1 MeV generated at scales above the QCD scale, and low values of the PQ symmetry breaking scale, $f_a$. We compute the abundance of such axions in a model-independent way, assuming only that they freeze-out after reheating from inflation, and are not subsequently diluted by new physics. If these axions decay between neutrino decoupling and the last scatter era of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), they dilute the neutrinos and their abundance is constrained by CMB measurements of the energy density in dark radiation, $N_{\rm eff}$. We accurately compute this bound using a numerical code to evolve the axion momentum distribution, including many key processes and effects previously ignored. We assume that the only relevant axion decays are to final states involving Standard Model particles. We determine regions of $(m_a, f_a)$ that will give a signal in $N_{\rm eff}$ at CMB Stage 4 experiments. We similarly compute the $N_{\rm eff}$ bound and CMB Stage 4 signal for heavy axions that can decay to light mirror photons. Finally, we compute the bounds on heavy axions with mass below 1 MeV that decay after the era of CMB last scatter, from their contribution to cold or hot dark matter or $N_{\rm eff}$ at this era., Comment: 40 pages, 17 figures

We consider the transfer of a U(1) charge density between Bose-Einstein condensates of complex scalar fields coupled to a thermal bath, focusing on the case of a homogeneous Affleck-Dine field transmitting the charge stored in its angular motion to an axion field. We demonstrate that in the absence of additional symmetries this charge transfer, aided by cosmic expansion as well as the thermal effective potential of the Affleck-Dine field, can be very efficient. The charge redistribution between the scalar fields becomes possible if the interactions with the thermal bath break the original U(1) x U(1) symmetry down to a single U(1) symmetry; the charge distribution between the two fields is then determined by minimizing the free energy. We discuss implications for cosmological setups involving complex scalars, with applications to axion dark matter, baryogenesis, kination domination, and gravitational wave production., Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures

Theoretical investigations into the evolution of the early universe are an essential part of particle physics that allow us to identify viable extensions to the Standard Model as well as motivated parameter space that can be probed by various experiments and observations. In this white paper, we review particle physics models of the early universe. First, we outline various models that explain two essential ingredients of the early universe (dark matter and baryon asymmetry) and those that seek to address current observational anomalies. We then discuss dynamics of the early universe in models of neutrino masses, axions, and several solutions to the electroweak hierarchy problem. Finally, we review solutions to naturalness problems of the Standard Model that employ cosmological dynamics., Comment: contribution to Snowmass 2021

The Standard Model of Particle Physics cannot explain the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. This observation is a clear sign of new physics beyond the Standard Model. There have been many recent theoretical developments to address this question. Critically, many new physics models that generate the baryon asymmetry have a wide range of repercussions for many areas of theoretical and experimental particle physics. This white paper provides an overview of such recent theoretical developments with an emphasis on experimental testability., Comment: Contribution to Snowmass 2021. Solicited white paper from TF08. v2: includes additional contributions

Supersymmetric Twin Higgs models ameliorate the fine-tuning of the electroweak scale originating from the heavy scalar top partners required by the non-discovery of them at the Large Hadron Collider. If the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle resides in the twin sector, it may play the role of dark matter even if it is charged under twin gauge interactions. We show that the twin stau is a viable candidate for charged dark matter, even if the twin electromagnetic gauge symmetry is unbroken, with thermal relic abundance that naturally matches the observed dark matter abundance. A wide parameter space satisfies all the experimental constraints including those on dark matter self-interactions. Twin stau dark matter can be observed in future direct detection experiments such as LUX-ZEPLIN. The stau has a mass in the range of 300-500 GeV, and in the minimal scenario, has a decay length long enough to be observed as a disappearing track or a long-lived particle at the Large Hadron Collider., Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures

Complex scalar fields charged under approximate $U(1)$ symmetries appear in well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model. One example is the field that contains the QCD axion field associated with the Peccei-Quinn symmetry; others include flat directions in supersymmetric theories with baryon, lepton, or flavor charges. These fields may take on large values and rotate in field space in the early universe. The relevant approximate $U(1)$ symmetry ensures that the angular direction of the complex field is light during inflation and that the rotation is thermodynamically stable and is long-lived. These properties allow rotating complex scalar fields to naturally serve as curvatons and explain the observed perturbations of the universe. The scenario imprints non-Gaussianity in the curvature perturbations, likely at a level detectable in future large scale structure observations. The rotation can also explain the baryon asymmetry of the universe without producing excessive isocurvature perturbations., Comment: 39 pages + references, 4 figures

We show that the rotation of the QCD axion field, aided by $B-L$ violation from supersymmetric $R$-parity violating couplings, can yield the observed baryon abundance. Strong sphaleron processes transfer the angular momentum of the axion field into a quark chiral asymmetry, which $R$-parity violating couplings convert to the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We focus on the case of dimensionless $R$-parity violating couplings with textures motivated by grand unified theories and comment on more general scenarios. The axion decay constant and mass spectrum of supersymmetric particles are constrained by Big Bang nucleosynthesis, proton decay from the $R$-parity violation, and successful thermalization of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking field. Axion dark matter may be produced by the axion rotation via the kinetic misalignment mechanism for axion decay constants below $10^{10}$ GeV, or by the conventional misalignment mechanism for $10^{11-12}$ GeV. The viable parameter region can be probed by proton decay and axion searches. This scenario may also have connections with collider experiments, including searches for long-lived particles, and observations of gravitational waves., Comment: 40 pages + references, 5 figures

Rotations of an axion field in field space provide a natural origin for an era of kination domination, where the energy density is dominated by the kinetic term of the axion field, preceded by an early era of matter domination. Remarkably, no entropy is produced at the end of matter domination and hence these eras of matter and kination domination may occur even after Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We derive constraints on these eras from both the cosmic microwave background and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We investigate how this cosmological scenario affects the spectrum of possible primordial gravitational waves and find that the spectrum features a triangular peak. We discuss how future observations of gravitational waves can probe the viable parameter space, including regions that produce axion dark matter by the kinetic misalignment mechanism or the baryon asymmetry by axiogenesis. For QCD axion dark matter produced by the kinetic misalignment mechanism, a modification to the inflationary gravitational wave spectrum occurs above 0.01 Hz and, for high values of the energy scale of inflation, the prospects for discovery are good. We briefly comment on implications for structure formation of the universe., Comment: 57 pages, 17 figures; v2: references and discussions added; v3: matches journal version

The baryon asymmetry of the universe may be explained by rotations of the QCD axion in field space and baryon number violating processes. We consider the minimal extension of the Standard Model by a non-Abelian gauge interaction, $SU(2)_R$, whose sphaleron process violates baryon number. Assuming that axion dark matter is also created from the axion rotation by the kinetic misalignment mechanism, the mass scale of the $SU(2)_R$ gauge boson is fixed as a function of the QCD axion decay constant, and vise versa. Significant portion of the parameter space has already been excluded by new gauge boson searches, and the high-luminocity LHC will further probe the viable parameter space., Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure

We study a predictive model for explaining the apparent deviation of the muon anomalous magnetic moment from the Standard Model expectation. There are no new scalars and hence no new hierarchy puzzles beyond those associated with the Higgs; the only new particles at the TeV scale are vector-like singlet and doublet leptons. Interestingly, this simple model provides a calculable example violating the Wilsonian notion of naturalness: despite the absence of any symmetries prohibiting its generation, the coefficient of the naively leading dimension-six operator for $(g-2)$ vanishes at one-loop. While effective field theorists interpret this either as a surprising UV cancellation of power divergences, or as a delicate cancellation between matching UV and calculable IR corrections to $(g-2)$ from parametrically separated scales, there is a simple explanation in the full theory: the loop integrand is a total derivative of a function vanishing in both the deep UV and IR. The leading contribution to $(g-2)$ arises from dimension-eight operators, and thus the required masses of new fermions are lower than naively expected, with a sizeable portion of parameter space already covered by direct searches at the LHC. The viable parameter space free of fine-tuning for the muon mass will be fully covered by future direct LHC searches, and {\it all} of the parameter space can be probed by precision measurements at planned future lepton colliders., Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures. v2: expanded discussion of the total derivative phenomenon, added comments on phenomenological constraints from lepton universality in tau decays

Left-Right symmetric theories solve the strong CP problem and explain the small Higgs quartic coupling at high energy scales via the Higgs Parity mechanism, which forces the Higgs quartic coupling to vanish at the Left-Right symmetry breaking scale. They also predict three right-handed neutrinos; one may be stable and provide dark matter, and another may decay and explain the baryon asymmetry of the universe through leptogenesis. For the dark matter abundance to arise from freeze-out, the required range of the Left-Right symmetry breaking scale is $10^{10}$-$10^{13}$ GeV, in remarkable agreement with the energy scale at which the Higgs quartic coupling vanishes. The allowed parameter space can be probed by the warmness of dark matter, precise measurements of the top quark mass and QCD coupling constant by future colliders and lattice computations, and measurement of the neutrino mass hierarchy., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, contribution to the 2021 EW session of the 55th Rencontres de Moriond

An axion rotating in field space can produce dark photons in the early universe via tachyonic instability. This explosive particle production creates a background of stochastic gravitational waves that may be visible at pulsar timing arrays or other gravitational wave detectors. This scenario provides a novel history for dark photon dark matter. The dark photons may be warm at a level detectable in future 21-cm line surveys. For a consistent cosmology, the radial direction of the complex field containing the axion must be thermalized. We explore a concrete thermalization mechanism in detail and also demonstrate how this setup can be responsible for the generation of the observed baryon asymmetry., Comment: 47 pages, 2 figures

We propose a framework where a phase transition associated with a gauge symmetry breaking that occurs (not far) above the electroweak scale sets a stage for baryogenesis similar to the electroweak baryogenesis in the Standard Model. A concrete realization utilizes the breaking of $SU(2)_R \times U(1)_X \rightarrow U(1)_Y$. New chiral fermions charged under the extended gauge symmetry have nonzero lepton numbers, which makes the $B-L$ symmetry anomalous. The new lepton sector contains a large flavor-dependent CP violation, similar to the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa phase, without inducing sizable electric dipole moments of the Standard Model particles. A bubble wall dynamics associated with the first-order phase transition and $SU(2)_R$ sphaleron processes generate a lepton asymmetry, which is transferred into a baryon asymmetry via the ordinary electroweak sphaleron process. Unlike the Standard Model electroweak baryogenesis, the new phase transition can be of the strong first order and the new CP violation is not significantly suppressed by Yukawa couplings, so that the observed asymmetry can be produced. The model can be probed by collider searches for new particles and the observation of gravitational waves. One of the new leptons becomes a dark matter candidate. The model can be also embedded into a left-right symmetric theory to solve the strong CP problem., Comment: 61 pages, 9 figures

The vanishing of the Higgs quartic coupling at a high energy scale may be explained by Intermediate Scale Supersymmetry, where supersymmetry breaks at $(10^9$-$10^{12})$ GeV. The possible range of supersymmetry breaking scales can be narrowed down by precise measurements of the top quark mass and the strong coupling constant. On the other hand, nuclear recoil experiments can probe Higgsino or sneutrino dark matter up to a mass of $10^{12}$ GeV. We derive the correlation between the dark matter mass and precision measurements of standard model parameters, including supersymmetric threshold corrections. The dark matter mass is bounded from above as a function of the top quark mass and the strong coupling constant. The top quark mass and the strong coupling constant are bounded from above and below respectively for a given dark matter mass. We also discuss how the observed dark matter abundance can be explained by freeze-out or freeze-in during a matter-dominated era after inflation, with the inflaton condensate being dissipated by thermal effects., Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures

The standard model Higgs quartic coupling vanishes at $(10^{9}-10^{13})$ GeV. We study $SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R \times U(1)_{B-L}$ theories that incorporate the Higgs Parity mechanism, where this becomes the scale of Left-Right symmetry breaking, $v_R$. Furthermore, these theories solve the strong CP problem and predict three right-handed neutrinos. We introduce cosmologies where $SU(2)_R \times U(1)_{B-L}$ gauge interactions produce right-handed neutrinos via the freeze-out or freeze-in mechanisms. In both cases, we find the parameter space where the lightest right-handed neutrino is dark matter and the decay of a heavier one creates the baryon asymmetry of the universe via leptogenesis. A theory of flavor is constructed that naturally accounts for the lightness and stability of the right-handed neutrino dark matter, while maintaining sufficient baryon asymmetry. The dark matter abundance and successful natural leptogenesis require $v_R$ to be in the range $(10^{10}-10^{13})$ GeV for freeze-out, in remarkable agreement with the scale where the Higgs quartic coupling vanishes, whereas freeze-in requires $v_R \gtrsim 10^9$ GeV. The allowed parameter space can be probed by the warmness of dark matter, precise determinations of the top quark mass and QCD coupling by future colliders and lattice computations, and measurement of the neutrino mass hierarchy., Comment: 46 pages, 16 figures

Reheating is a process where the energy density of a dominant component of the universe other than radiation, such as a matter component, is transferred into radiation. It is usually assumed that the temperature of the universe decreases due to cosmic expansion even during the reheating process, in which case the maximal temperature of the universe is much higher than the reheat temperature. We point out that the temperature of the universe during reheating may in fact increase in well-motivated scenarios. We derive the necessary conditions for the temperature to increase during reheating and discuss concrete examples involving a scalar field. We comment on implications for particle physics and cosmology due to an increasing temperature during reheating., Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures

Detection of electron recoils by dark matter (DM) may reveal the structure of the dark sector. We consider a scenario where a heavier DM particle inelastically scatters off an electron and is converted into a lighter DM particle. A small mass difference between the two DM particles is transferred into electron recoil energy. We investigate the DM-electron interaction mediated by a massive dark photon and evaluate the inelastic DM scattering rate, taking account of the atomic structure. It is found that the scattering rate is significantly enhanced because of the small mass splitting, which allows for a small momentum transfer matched with the size of the electron wave function. We show that there exists a viable parameter space which explains the excess of electron recoil events around 2-3 keV recently reported by the XENON1T experiment., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, version to be published in Physics Letters B

We propose a baryogenenesis mechanism that uses a rotating condensate of a Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry breaking field and the dimension-five operator that gives Majorana neutrino masses. The rotation induces charge asymmetries for the Higgs boson and for lepton chirality through sphaleron processes and Yukawa interactions. The dimension-five interaction transfers these asymmetries to the lepton asymmetry, which in turn is transferred into the baryon asymmetry through the electroweak sphaleron process. QCD axion dark matter can be simultaneously produced by dynamics of the same PQ field via kinetic misalignment or parametric resonance, favoring an axion decay constant $f_a \lesssim 10^{10}$ GeV, or by conventional misalignment and contributions from strings and domain walls with $f_a \sim 10^{11}$ GeV. The size of the baryon asymmetry is tied to the mass of the PQ field. In simple supersymmetric theories, it is independent of UV parameters and predicts the supersymmtry breaking mass scale to be $\mathcal{O}(10-10^4)$ TeV, depending on the masses of the neutrinos and whether the condensate is thermalized during a radiation or matter dominated era. We also construct a theory where TeV scale supersymmetry is possible. Parametric resonance may give warm axions, and the radial component of the PQ field may give signals in rare kaon decays from mixing with the Higgs and in dark radiation., Comment: 71 pages, 6 Figures

Adding an axion-like particle (ALP) to the Standard Model, with a field velocity in the early universe, simultaneously explains the observed baryon and dark matter densities. This requires one or more couplings between the ALP and photons, nucleons, and/or electrons that are predicted as functions of the ALP mass. These predictions arise because the ratio of dark matter to baryon densities is independent of the ALP field velocity, allowing a correlation between the ALP mass, $m_a$, and decay constant, $f_a$. The predicted couplings are orders of magnitude larger than those for the QCD axion and for dark matter from the conventional ALP misalignment mechanism. As a result, this scheme, ALP cogenesis, is within reach of future experimental ALP searches from the lab and stellar objects, and for dark matter., Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures