Search

The details of the minimal cosmological standard model (MCSM) proposed in Ref.~\cite{Barenboim:2024akt} are discussed. The model is based on the scale-symmetry and the global Peccei-Quinn(PQ) symmetry with a key assumption that the latter is broken only in the gravity sector in a scale-invariant manner. We show that the model provides a quite simple unified framework for the unknown history of the universe from inflation to the epoch of big-bang nucleosynthesis, simultaneously addressing key puzzles of high energy theory and cosmology: (i) the origin of scales, (ii) primordial inflation, (iii) matter-antimatter asymmetry, (iv) tiny neutrino masses, (v) dark matter, and (vi) the strong CP-problem. Scale symmetry can be exact, and the Planck scale is dynamically generated. The presence of Gauss-Bonnet term may safely retain dangerous non-perturbative symmetry-breaking effects negligible, allowing a large-field trans-Planckian inflation along the PQ-field. Iso-curvature perturbations of axi-majorons are suppressed. A sizable amount of PQ-number asymmetry is generated at the end of inflation, and conserved afterwards. Domain wall problem is absent due to the non-restoration of the symmetry and the non-zero PQ-number asymmetry. Baryogenesis can be realized by either the transfer of the PQ-number asymmetry through the seesaw sector, or by resonant leptogenesis. Dark matter is purely cold axi-majorons from the mis-alignment contribution with the symmetry-breaking scale of $\mathcal{O}(10^{12}) {\rm GeV}$. Hot axi-majorons from the decay of the inflaton become a natural source for a sizable amount of dark radiation. Inflationary gravitational waves have information about the masse parameters of the lightest left-handed and right-handed neutrinos, thanks to the presence of an early matter-domination era driven by the long-lived lightest right-handed neutrino species., Comment: 49 pages, 13 figures; errors corrected, some figures changed

We propose a novel minimal scenario which simultaneously addresses the following theoretical/cosmological/phenomenological puzzles: (i) the origin of scales, (ii) primordial inflation, (iii) matter-antimatter asymmetry, (iv) tiny neutrino masses, (v) dark matter, and (vi) the strong CP-problem. Exact scale-symmetry was assumed. A global $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$-symmetry was also assumed but only in the matter sector. The novelty of the scenario is the introduction of an explicit $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$-breaking term in the gravity sector only. Such a term does not disturb the axion solution whereas naturally realizes an axi-majoron hybrid inflation which allows a natural realization of Affleck-Dine mechanism for generating Peccei-Quinn number asymmetry. The asymmetry can be transferred to the visible sector via the right-handed neutrino portal through non-thermal decay and thermal processes, even without the presence of a CP-violating phase in the matter sector. Dark matter and dark radiation are obtained by cold and hot components of axi-majorons, respectively., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, some corrections made, main points barely changed

We show that, when connected with monopoles, the flat $D$-flat direction breaking the local $U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry as an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model can be responsible for the signal of a stochastic gravitational wave background recently reported by NANOGrav collaborations, while naturally satisfying constraints at high frequency band. Thanks to the flatness of the direction, a phase of thermal inflation arises naturally. The reheating temperature is quite low, and suppresses signals at frequencies higher than the characteristic frequency set by the reheating temperature. Notably, forthcoming spaced-based experiments such as LISA can probe the cutoff frequency, providing an indirect clue of the scale of soft SUSY-breaking mass parameter., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in JCAP

We explore the gravitational wave spectrum generated by string-wall structures in an $SO(10)$ ($Spin(10)$) based scenario of pseudo-Goldstone boson dark matter (pGDM) particle. This dark matter candidate is a linear combination of the Standard Model (SM) singlets present in the 126 and 16 dimensional Higgs fields. The Higgs $126$-plet vacuum expectation value (VEV) $\left<126_H\right>$ leaves unbroken the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ subgroup of $\mathbb{Z}_4$, the center of $SO(10)$. Among other things, this yields topologically stable cosmic strings with a string tension $\mu \sim \left<126_H\right>^2$. The subsequent (spontaneous) breaking of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ at a significantly lower scale by the $16$-plet VEV $\left<16_H\right>$ leads to the appearance of domain walls bounded by the strings produced earlier. We display the gravitational wave spectrum for $G \mu$ values varying between $10^{-15}$ and $10^{-9}$ ($\left<126_H\right>\sim 10^{11}$ - $10^{14}$ GeV), and $\left<16_H\right>\sim 0.1$ - $10^2$ TeV range ($G$ denotes Newton's constant.) These predictions can be tested, as we show, by a variety of (proposed) experiments including LISA, ET, CE and others., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, version published in PLB

We propose a minimal gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) which resolves the cosmological moduli problem via thermal inflation, and realizes late-time Affleck-Dine leptogensis so as to generate the right amount of baryon asymmetry at the end of thermal inflation. The present relic density of dark matter can be explained by sneutrinos, MSSM neutralinos, axinos, or axions. Cosmic strings from $U(1)_{B-L}$ breaking are very thick, and so the expected stochastic gravitational wave background from cosmic string loops has a spectrum different from the one in the conventional Abelian-Higgs model, as would be distinguishable at least at LISA and DECIGO. The characteristic spectrum is due to a flat potential, and may be regarded as a hint of supersymmetry. Combined with the resolution of moduli problem, the expected signal of gravitational waves constrains the $U(1)_{B-L}$ breaking scale to be $\mathcal{O}(10^{12-13})\,{\rm GeV}$. Interestingly, our model provides a natural possibility for explaining the observed ultra-high-energy cosmic rays thanks to the fact that the core width of strings in our scenario is very large, allowing a large enhancement of particle emissions from the cusps of string loops. Condensation of $LH_u$ flat-direction inside of string cores arises inevitably and can also be the main source of the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays accompanied by ultra-high-energy lightest supersymmetric particles., Comment: matching to JCAP version to be published

We investigate the mass range and the corresponding free-streaming length scale of dark matter produced non-thermally from decay of heavy objects which can be either dominant or sub-dominant at the moment of decay. We show that the resulting dark matter could be very light well below keV scale with a free-streaming length satisfying the Lyman-{\alpha} constraints. We demonstrate two explicit examples for such light cold dark matter., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

We find a novel phenomenon in the solution to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation by solving numerically the equation assuming $O(4)$-symmetry and imposing the Hartle-Hawking wave function as a boundary condition. In the slow-roll limit, as expected, the numerical solution gives the most dominant steepest-descent that describes the probability distribution for the initial condition of a universe. The probability is consistent with the Euclidean computations, and the overall shape of the wave function is compatible with analytical approximations, although there exist novel differences in the detailed probability computation. Our approach gives an alternative point of view of the no-boundary wave function from the wave function point of view. Possible interpretations and conceptual issues of this wave function are discussed., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures

This article is an addendum to Ref.~\cite{Baek:2014jga}. Here, we discuss the invisible Higgs decay width $\Gamma_{h}^{\rm inv}$ in the Higgs portal vector dark matter (VDM) model in the limit $m_V \rightarrow 0^+$. In the effective field theory (EFT) approach where the VDM mass is attributed to the St\"{u}ckelberg mechanism, $( \Gamma_{h}^{\rm inv} )_{\rm EFT}$ is divergent, which is unphysical and puzzling. On the other hand $( \Gamma_{h}^{\rm inv} )_{\rm UV}$ becomes finite in a UV completion, where the VDM mass is generated by the dark Higgs mechanism. Then we can take the limit $m_V \rightarrow 0^+$ by taking either {\it (i)} the dark gauge coupling $g_X \rightarrow 0^+$ with a fixed dark Higgs vacuum expectation value $v_\Phi$, or {\it (ii)} $v_\Phi \to 0^+$ with a fixed $g_X$. Such a difference in the behavior of $\Gamma_{h}^{\rm inv}$ in the massless VDM limit demonstrates another limitation of EFT for the Higgs portal VDM, and the importance of gauge-invariant and renormalizable models for the Higgs portal VDM., Comment: matching to PRD version

We show that string moduli have axion-philic nature owing to the model-insensitive derivative interactions arising from the Kaehler potential. The decay of a modulus into stringy axions occurs without suppression by the mass of final states. Interestingly, it turns out to hold in general not only for the scalar partner of the stringy axion but also for any other moduli. The decay into (pseudo) Nambu-Goldstone bosons (NGBs) also avoids such mass suppression if the modulus is lighter than or similar in mass to the scalar partner of the NGB. Such axion-philic nature makes string moduli a natural source of an observable amount of dark radiation in string compactifications involving ultralight stringy axions, and possibly in extensions of the Standard Model that include a cosmologically stable NGB such as the QCD axion. In the latter case, the fermionic superpartner of the NGB can also contribute to the dark matter as a feebly interacting massive particle., Comment: 8 pages, v2: corrections made by including the effect of kinetic mixing, discussion expanded, references added

We propose a new portal coupling to dark matter by taking advantage of the nonminimally coupled portal sector to the Ricci scalar. Such a portal sector conformally induces couplings to the trace of the energy-momentum tensor of matters including highly secluded dark matter particles. The portal coupling is so feeble that dark matter is produced by freeze-in processes of scatterings and/or the decay of the mediator. We consider two concrete realizations of the portal: conformally induced Higgs portal and conformally induced mediator portal. The former case is compatible with the Higgs inflation, while the latter case can be tested by dark matter direct detection experiments., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, version accepted by PRD

We examined the possibility of spontaneous baryogenesis driven by the inflaton in the scenario of \textit{spiral inflation}, and found the parametric dependence of the late-time baryon number asymmetry. As a result, it is shown that, depending on the effective coupling of baryon/lepton number violating operators, it is possible to obtain the right amount of asymmetry even in the presence of a matter-domination era as long as such era is relatively short. In a part of the parameter space, the required expansion rate during inflation is close to the current upper-bound, and hence can be probed in the near future experiments., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures

We propose a scenario to flatten inflaton potential for a small-field slow-roll inflation from the origin. In the scenario, inflaton mass-square gets through a renormalization group running which depends on not only inflaton field but also an assisting field. Thanks to the assisting field participating in the running, initial condition for a slow-roll inflation can be set naturally, and inflaton potential can be flattened by the vacuum expectation value of the field. Applying this idea, we propose a scenario of inflation, dubbed here as \textit{assisted hilltop inflation}, which is free from the initial condition and the flatness problems of inflation., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

We show that the reheating temperature of a matter-domination era in the early universe can be pushed down to the neutrino decoupling temperature at around $2 \ {\rm MeV}$ if the reheating takes place through non-hadronic decays of the dominant matter and neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries are still large enough, $|L| \gtrsim \mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$ (depending on the neutrino flavor) at the end of reheating., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures: new figures added, minor changes in conclusions, matches the version published in JCAP

A large lepton number asymmetry of $\mathcal{O}(0.1-1)$ at present universe might not only be allowed but also necessary for consistency among cosmological data. We show that, if a sizeable lepton number asymmetry were produced before the electroweak phase transition, the requirement for not producing too much baryon number asymmetry through sphalerons processes, forces the high scale lepton number asymmetry to be larger than about $30$. Therefore a mild entropy release causing $\mathcal{O}(10-100)$ suppression of pre-existing particle density should take place, when the background temperature of the universe is around $T = \mathcal{O}(10^{-2} - 10^2) {\rm GeV}$ for a large but experimentally consistent asymmetry to be present today. We also show that such a mild entropy production can be obtained by the late-time decays of the saxion, constraining the parameters of the Peccei-Quinn sector such as the mass and the vacuum expectation value of the saxion field to be $m_\phi \gtrsim \mathcal{O}(10) {\rm TeV}$ and $\phi_0 \gtrsim \mathcal{O}(10^{14}) {\rm GeV}$, respectively., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures

We revisit the effect of the (Dirac) CP-violating phase on neutrino lepton number asymmetries in both mass- and flavor-basis. We found that, even if there are sizable effects on muon- and tau-neutrino asymmetries, the effect on the asymmetry of electron-neutrinos is at most similar to the upper bound set by BBN for initial neutrino degeneracy parameters smaller than order unity. We also found that, for the asymmetries in mass-basis, the changes caused by CP-violation is of sub-\% level which is unlikely to be accesible neither in the current nor in the forthcoming experiments., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures

We show that, if they exist, lepton number asymmetries ($L_\alpha$) of neutrino flavors should be distinguished from the ones ($L_i$) of mass eigenstates, since Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) bounds on the flavor eigenstates cannot be directly applied to the mass eigenstates. Similarly, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) constraints on mass eigenstates do not directly constrain flavor asymmetries. Due to the difference of mass and flavor eigenstates, the cosmological constraint on the asymmetries of neutrino flavors can be much stronger than conventional expectation, but not uniquely determined unless at least the asymmetry of the heaviest neutrino is well constrained. Cosmological constraint on $L_i$ for a specific case is presented as an illustration., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, matching to journal version

We numerically solve the evolution equations of neutrino three-flavor density matrices, and show that, even if neutrino oscillations mix neutrino flavors, large lepton number asymmetries are still allowed in certain limits by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN)., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the gravitational wave background from a first order phase transition in a matter-dominated universe, and show that it has a unique feature from which important information about the properties of the phase transition and thermal history of the universe can be easily extracted. Also, we discuss the inverse problem of such a gravitational wave background in view of the degeneracy among macroscopic parameters governing the signal., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 table

We consider eternal inflation in hilltop-type inflation models, favored by current data, in which the scalar field in inflation rolls off of a local maximum of the potential. Unlike chaotic or plateau-type inflation models, in hilltop inflation the region of field space which supports eternal inflation is finite, and the expansion rate $H_{EI}$ during eternal inflation is almost exactly the same as the expansion rate $H_*$ during slow roll inflation. Therefore, in any given Hubble volume, there is a finite and calculable expectation value for the lifetime of the "eternal" inflation phase, during which quantum flucutations dominate over classical field evolution. We show that despite this, inflation in hilltop models is nonetheless eternal in the sense that the volume of the spacetime at any finite time is exponentially dominated by regions which continue to inflate. This is true regardless of the energy scale of inflation, and eternal inflation is supported for inflation at arbitrarily low energy scale., Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX (v4: matches version to be published by JCAP)

We show that a tiny correction to the inflaton potential can make critical changes in the inflationary observables for some types of inflation models., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

We show that generically the tensor-to-scalar ratio in large single-field inflation scenarios is bounded to be larger than $\mathcal{O}(10^{-3})$ for the spectral index in the range favored by observations., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

We propose a scenario of brane cosmology in which the Peccei-Quinn field plays the role of the inflaton and solves simultaneously many cosmological and phenomenological issues such as the generation of a heavy Majorana mass for the right-handed neutrinos needed for seesaw mechanism, MSSM $\mu$-parameter, the right amount of baryon number asymmetry and dark matter relic density at the present universe, together with an axion solution to the strong CP problem without the domain wall obstacle. Interestingly, the scales of the soft SUSY-breaking mass parameter and that of the breaking of $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry are lower bounded at $\mathcal{O}(10) {\mathrm TeV}$ and $\mathcal{O}(10^{11}) {\mathrm GeV}$, respectively., Comment: 7 pages, journal version

Direct detection of and LHC search for the singlet fermion dark matter (SFDM) model with Higgs portal interaction are considered in a renormalizable model where the full Standard Model (SM) gauge symmetry is imposed by introducing a singlet scalar messenger. In this model, direct detection is described by an effective operator m_q \bar{q} q \bar{\chi} \chi as usual, but the full amplitude for monojet + \not E_T involves two intermediate scalar propagators, which cannot be seen within the effective field theory (EFT) or in the simplified model without the full SM gauge symmetry. We derive the collider bounds from the ATLAS monojet + \not E_T as well as the CMS t\bar{t} + \not E_T data, finding out that the bounds and the interpretation of the results are completely different from those obtained within the EFT or simplified models. It is pointed out that it is important to respect unitarity, renormalizability and local gauge invariance of the SM., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, version published in Phys. Lett. B

We present Higgs-Portal dark matter (DM) models to explain the reported Galactic Center GeV gamma-ray excess. Naive effective theories are inconsistent with direct detection constraint for the relevant parameter range. Simple extended models with dark gauge symmetries can easily accommodate the gamma-ray excess through the Higgs-Portal coupling while satisfying various constraints., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, proceeding of the 2nd Toyama Workshop on "Higgs as a Probe of New Physics 2015", 11-15 February 2015

We show that "spiralized" models of new-inflation can be experimentally identified mostly by their positive spectral running in direct contrast with most chaotic-inflation models which have negative runnings typically in the range of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4}-10^{-3})$., Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables: the published version

We apply the idea of spiral inflation to Coleman-Weinberg potential, and show that inflation matching well observations is allowed for a symmetry-breaking scale ranging from an intermediate scale to GUT scale even if the quartic coupling $\lambda$ is of $\mathcal{O}(0.1)$. The tensor-to-scalar ratio can be of $\mathcal{O}(0.01)$ in case of GUT scale symmetry-breaking., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected, references added

We propose a novel scenario of primordial inflation in which the inflaton goes through a spiral motion starting from around the top of a symmetry breaking potential. We show that, even though inflation takes place for a field value much smaller than Planck scale, it is possible to obtain relatively large tensor to scalar ratio ($r \sim 0.1$) without fine tuning. The inflationary observables perfectly match Planck data., Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, typos corrected, matched to journal version

We present a scalar dark matter (DM) model where DM ($X_I$) is stabilized by a local $Z_2$ symmetry originating from a spontaneously broken local dark $U(1)_X$. Compared with the usual scalar DM with a global $Z_2$ symmetry, the local $Z_2$ model possesses three new extra fields, dark photon $Z^{'}$, dark Higgs $\phi$ and the excited partner of scalar DM ($X_R$), with the kinetic mixing and Higgs portal interactions dictated by local dark gauge invariance. The resulting model can accommodate thermal relic density of scalar DM without conflict with the invisible Higgs branching ratio and the bounds from DM direct detections, thanks to the newly opened channels, $X_I X_I \rightarrow Z^{'} Z^{'}, \phi\phi$. In particular, due to the new particles, the ${\rm GeV}$ scale $\gamma$-ray excess from the Galactic Center (GC) can be originated from the decay of dark Higgs boson which is produced in DM annihilations., Comment: matched to journal version

Both the naturalness of the electroweak symmetry breaking and the resolution of the strong CP problem may require a small Higgsino mass $\mu$ generated by a realization of the DFSZ axion model. Assuming the axino is the lightest supersymmetric particle, we study its implications on $\mu$ and the axion scale. Copiously produced light Higgsinos at collider (effectively only neutral NLSP pairs) eventually decay to axinos leaving prompt multi-leptons or displaced vertices which are being looked for at the LHC. We use latest LHC7+8 results to derive current limits on $\mu$ and the axion scale. Various Higgsino-axino phenomenology is illustrated by comparing with a standard case without lightest axinos as well as with a more general case with additional light gauginos in the spectrum., Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures. v2: published version updated with LHC 14 TeV projections

The correlation between the invisible Higgs branching ratio ($B_h^{\rm inv} $) vs. dark matter (DM) direct detection ($\sigma_p^{\rm SI}$) in Higgs portal DM models is usually presented in the effective field theory (EFT) framework. This is fine for singlet scalar DM, but not in the singlet fermion DM (SFDM) or vector DM (VDM) models. In this paper, we derive the explicit expressions for this correlation within UV completions of SFDM and VDM models with Higgs portals, and discuss the limitation of the EFT approach. We show that there are at least two additional hidden parameter in $\sigma_p^{\rm SI}$ in the UV completions: the singlet-like scalar mass $m_2$ and its mixing angle $\alpha$ with the SM Higgs boson ($h$). In particular, if the singlet-like scalar is lighter than the SM Higgs boson ($m_2 < m_h \cos \alpha / \sqrt{1 + \cos^2 \alpha}$), the collider bound becomes weaker than the one based on EFT., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures

Recently two groups independently observed unidentified X-ray line signal at the energy 3.55 keV from the galaxy clusters and Andromeda galaxy. We show that this anomalous signal can be explained in annihilating dark matter model, for example, fermionic dark matter model in hidden sector with global $U(1)_X$ symmetry proposed by Weinberg. There are two scenarios for the production of the annihilating dark matters. In the first scenario the dark matters with mass 3.55 keV decouple from the interaction with Goldstone bosons and go out of thermal equilibrium at high temperature ($>$ 1 TeV) when they are still relativistic, their number density per comoving volume being essentially fixed to be the current value. The correct relic abundance of this warm dark matter is obtained by assuming that about ${\cal O}(10^3)$ relativistic degrees of freedom were present at the decoupling temperature or alternatively large entropy production occurred at high temperature. In the other scenario, the dark matters were absent at high temperature, and as the universe cools down, the SM particles annihilate or decay to produce the dark matters non-thermally as in `freeze-in' scenario. It turns out that the DM production from Higgs decay is the dominant one. In the model we considered, only the first scenario can explain both X-ray signal and relic abundance. The X-ray signal arises through $p$-wave annihilation of dark matter pair into two photons through the scalar resonance without violating the constraints from big bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave background, and astrophysical objects such as red giants or white dwarfs. We also discuss the possibility that the signal may result from a decaying dark matter in a simple extension of Weinberg model., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; references added

We show that the Higgs portal interactions involving extra dark Higgs field can save generically the original Higgs inflation of the standard model (SM) from the problem of a deep non-SM vacuum in the SM Higgs potential. Specifically, we show that such interactions disconnect the top quark pole mass from inflationary observables and allow multi-dimensional parameter space to save the Higgs inflation, thanks to the additional parameters (the dark Higgs boson mass $m_{\phi}$, the mixing angle $\alpha$ between the SM Higgs $H$ and dark Higgs $\Phi$, and the mixed quartic coupling) affecting RG-running of the Higgs quartic coupling. The effect of Higgs portal interactions may lead to a larger tensor-to-scalar ratio, $0.08 \lesssim r \lesssim 0.1$, by adjusting relevant parameters in wide ranges of $\alpha$ and $m_{\phi}$, some region of which can be probed at future colliders. Performing a numerical analysis we find an allowed region of parameters, matching the latest Planck data., Comment: v4: analysis improved, version published in JCAP

We show that the $\mathinner{\mathrm{GeV}}$ scale $\gamma$-ray excess from the direction of the Galactic Center can be naturally explained by the pair annihilation of Abelian vector dark matter (VDM) into a pair of dark Higgs bosons $VV \rightarrow \phi \phi$, followed by the subsequent decay of $\phi$ into $\phi \rightarrow b\bar{b} , \tau \bar{\tau} $. All the processes are described by a renormalizable VDM model with the Higgs portal, which is naturally flavor-dependent. Some parameter space of this scenario can be tested at the near future direct dark matter search experiments such as LUX and XENON1T., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures

The recently reported X-ray line signal at $E_\gamma \simeq 3.5\, {\rm keV}$ from a stacked spectrum of various galaxy clusters and the Andromeda galaxy may be originating from a decaying dark matter particle of the mass $2 E_\gamma$. A light axion-like scalar is suggested as a natural candidate for dark matter and its production mechanisms are closely examined. We show that the right amount of axion relic density with the preferred parameters, $m_a \simeq 7 \,{\rm keV}$ and $f_a \simeq 4\times 10^{14}\, {\rm GeV}$, can be naturally obtainable from the decay of inflaton. If the axions were produced from the saxion decay, it could not have constituted the total relic density due to the bound from structure formation. Nonetheless, the saxion decay is an interesting possibility, because the $3.5\, {\rm keV}$ line and dark radiation can be addressed simultaneously, being consistent with the Planck data. Small misalignment angles of the axion, ranging between $\theta_a\sim 10^{-4} -10^{-1}$ depending on the reheating temperature, can also be the source of axion production. The model with axion misalignment can satisfy the constraints for structure formation and iso-curvature perturbation., Comment: 14 pages, significant changes in the form, matched to the journal version

We propose a supersymmetric scenario in which the small Yukawa couplings for the Dirac neutrino mass term are generated by the spontaneous-breaking of Pecci-Quinn symmetry. In this scenario, a right amount of dark matter relic density can be obtained by either right-handed sneutrino or axino LSP, and a sizable amount of axion dark radiation can be obtained. Interestingly, the decay of right-handed sneutrino NLSP to axino LSP is delayed to around the present epoch, and can leave an observable cosmological background of neutrinos at the energy scale of $\mathcal{O}(10-100) {\rm GeV}$., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the indirect signatures of the Higgs portal $U(1)_X$ vector dark matter (VDM) $X_\mu$ from both its pair annihilation and decay. The VDM is stable at renormalizable level by $Z_2$ symmetry, and thermalized by Higgs-portal interactions. It can also decay by some nonrenormalizable operators with very long lifetime at cosmological time scale. If dim-6 operators for VDM decays are suppressed by $10^{16}$ GeV scale, the lifetime of VDM with mass $\sim$ 2 TeV is just right for explaining the positron excess in cosmic ray recent observed by PAMELA and AMS02 Collaborations. The VDM decaying into $\mu^+ \mu^-$ can fit the data, evading various constraints on cosmic rays. We give one UV-complete model as an example. This scenario for Higgs portal decaying VDM with mass around $\sim2$ TeV can be tested by DM direct search at XENON1T and at the future colliders by measuring the Higgs self-couplings., Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures; reference added, minor corrections in the text; published version on JCAP

We show that the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole model in the hidden sector with Higgs portal interaction makes a viable dark matter model, where monopole and massive vector dark matter (VDM) are stable due to topological conservation and the unbroken subgroup $U(1)_X$. We show that, even though observed CMB data requires the dark gauge coupling to be quite small, a right amount of VDM thermal relic can be obtained via $s$-channel resonant annihilation for the mass of VDM close to or smaller than the half of SM higgs mass, thanks to Higgs portal interaction. Monopole relic density turns out to be several orders of magnitude smaller than observed dark matter relic density. Direct detection experiments, particularly, the projected XENON1T experiment, may probe the parameter space where the dark Higgs is lighter than $\lesssim 60 {\rm GeV}$. In addition, the dark photon associated with unbroken $U(1)_X$ contributes to the radiation energy density at present, giving $\Delta N_{\rm eff}^\nu \sim 0.1$ as the extra relativistic neutrino species., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, extended version submitted to a journal

We present an extension of the standard model to dark sector with an unbroken local dark $U(1)_X$ symmetry. Including various singlet portal interactions provided by the standard model Higgs, right-handed neutrinos and kinetic mixing, we show that the model can address most of phenomenological issues (inflation, neutrino mass and mixing, baryon number asymmetry, dark matter, direct/indirect dark matter searches, some scale scale puzzles of the standard collisionless cold dark matter, vacuum stability of the standard model Higgs potential, dark radiation) and be regarded as an alternative to the standard model. The Higgs signal strength is equal to one as in the standard model for unbroken $U(1)_X$ case with a scalar dark matter, but it could be less than one independent of decay channels if the dark matter is a dark sector fermion or if $U(1)_X$ is spontaneously broken, because of a mixing with a new neutral scalar boson in the models., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, VII International Conference on Interconnections between Particle Physics and Cosmology (PPC2013)

Assuming dark matter is absolutely stable due to unbroken dark gauge symmetry and singlet operators are portals to the dark sector, we present a simple extension of the standard seesaw model that can accommodate all the cosmological observations as well as terrestrial experiments available as of now, including leptogenesis, extra dark radiation of $\sim 0.08$ (resulting in $N_{\rm eff} = 3.130$ the effective number of neutrino species), Higgs inflation, small and large scale structure formation, and current relic density of scalar DM ($X$). The Higgs signal strength is equal to one as in the SM for unbroken $U(1)_X$ case with a scalar dark matter, but it could be less than one independent of decay channels if the dark matter is a dark sector fermion or if $U(1)_X$ is spontaneously broken, because of a mixing with a new neutral scalar boson in the models., Comment: Presented at the 9th PATRAS Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs

We compute the gamma-ray output of axion-mediated dark matter and derive the corresponding constraints set by recent data. In such scenarios the dark matter candidate is a Dirac fermion that pair-annihilates into axions and/or scalars. Provided that the axion decays (at least partly) into photons, these models naturally give rise to a box-shaped gamma-ray spectrum that may present two distinct phenomenological behaviours: a narrow box, resembling a line at half the dark matter mass, or a wide box, spanning an extensive energy range up to the dark matter mass. Remarkably, we find that in both cases a sizable gamma-ray flux is predicted for a thermal relic without fine-tuning the model parameters nor invoking boost factors. This large output is in line with recent Fermi-LAT observations towards the Galactic centre region and is on the verge of being excluded. We then make use of the Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. data to derive robust, model-independent upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section for the narrow and wide box scenarios. H.E.S.S. constraints, in particular, turn out to match the ones from Fermi-LAT at hundreds of GeV and extend to multi-TeV masses. Future Cherenkov telescopes will likely probe gamma-ray boxes from thermal dark matter relics in the whole multi-TeV range, a region hardly accessible to direct detection, collider searches and other indirect detection strategies., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures. Error in Section 3 corrected, figures updated, conclusions unchanged

Assuming ({\it i}) the seesaw mechanism works for neutrino masses and mixings, ({\it ii}) dark matter is absolutely stable due to unbroken $U(1)_X$ dark gauge symmetry, and ({\it iii}) the singlet fields ($H^\dagger H$ and $N_R$) are portal to the dark sector, we construct a simple model which is consistent with all the cosmological observations as well as terrestrial experiments available as of now, including leptogenesis, extra dark radiation of $\sim 8 %$ (resulting in $N_{\rm eff} = 3.130$ the effective number of neutrino species), Higgs inflation, small and large scale structure formation, and current relic density of scalar dark matter ($X$). The electroweak vacuum of this model is stable up to Planck scale for $m_H = 125$ GeV without any other new physics. The Higgs signal strength is equal to one as in the standard model for unbroken $U(1)_X$ case with a scalar dark matter, but it could be less than one independent of decay channels if the dark matter is a dark sector fermion or if $U(1)_X$ is spontaneously broken, because of a mixing with a new neutral scalar boson in the models. Detailed study of Higgs properties at the LHC would shed light on the models described in this work., Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures; Added references and corrected typos matching JHEP version

We revisit the Higgs portal vector dark matter model including a hidden sector Higgs field that generates the mass of the vector dark matter. The model becomes renormalizable and has two scalar bosons, the mixtures of the standard model (SM) Higgs and the hidden sector Higgs bosons. The strong bound from direct detection such as XENON100 is evaded due to the cancellation mechanism between the contributions from two scalar bosons. As a result, the model becomes still viable in large range of dark matter mass, contrary to some claims in the literature. The Higgs properties are also affected, the signal strengths for the Higgs boson search being universally suppressed relative to the SM value, which could be tested at the LHC in the future., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures; version accepted for publication in JHEP

We show that in a large volume scenario of type IIB string or F-theory compactifications, single thermal inflation provides only a partial solution to the cosmological problem of the light volume modulus. We then clarify the conditions for double thermal inflation, being a simple extension of the usual single thermal inflation scenario, to solve the cosmological moduli problem in the case of relatively light moduli masses. Using a specific example, we demonstrate that double thermal inflation can be realized in large volume scenario in a natural manner, and the problem of the light volume modulus can be solved for the whole relevant mass range. We also find that right amount of baryon asymmetry and dark matter can be obtained via a late-time Affleck-Dine mechanism and the decays of the visible sector NLSP to flatino LSP., Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

We consider the issue of vacuum stability and triviality bound of the singlet extension of the Standard Model (SM) with a singlet fermion dark matter (DM). In this model, the singlet scalar plays the role of a messenger between the SM sector and the dark matter sector. This model has two Higgs-like scalar bosons, and is consistent with all the data on electroweak precision tests, thermal relic density of DM and its direct detection constraints. We show that this model is stable without hitting Landau pole up to Planck scale for 125 GeV Higgs boson. We also perform a comprehensive study of vacuum structure, and point out that a region where electroweak vacuum is the global minimum is highly limited. In this model, both Higgs-like scalar bosons have reduced couplings to the SM weak gauge bosons and the SM fermions, because of the mixing between the SM Higgs boson and the singlet scalar. There is also a possibility of their invisible decay(s) into a pair of DM's. Therefore this model would be disfavored if the future data on the $(\sigma \cdot B)_{VV}$ or $(\sigma \cdot B)_{f\bar{f}}$ with $V=\gamma,W,Z$ and $f=b, \tau$ turn out larger than the SM predictions., Comment: 41 pages, 31 figures; v2: references added; v3: new figure added, version to appear in JHEP

We consider axion-mediated dark matter models motivated by Fermi gamma ray line at 130 GeV, where anomaly interactions of an axion-like scalar mediate a singlet Dirac fermion dark matter (DM) to electroweak gauge bosons. In these models, extra vector-like leptons generate anomaly interactions for the axion and can also couple to the SM Higgs boson to modify the Higgs-to-diphoton rate. We can distinguish models by the branching fraction of the DM annihilation into a photon pair, favoring the model with a triplet fermion. From the condition that the lighter charged extra lepton must be heavier than dark matter for no tree-level DM annihilations, we also show that the ratio of Higgs-to-diphoton rate to the SM value is constrained by vacuum stability to 1.4(1.5) for the cutoff scale of 10(1) TeV., Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, references added

We consider a singlet Dirac fermion with Peccei-Quinn(PQ) symmetry as dark matter. A singlet complex scalar is introduced to mediate between dark matter and the SM through Higgs portal interaction and electroweak PQ anomalies. We show that a resonant annihilation of dark matter with axion mediation can explain the monochromatic photon line of the Fermi LAT data at 130 GeV by anomaly interactions while the annihilation cross section with Higgs portal interaction is p-wave suppressed. We discuss the interplay between the direct detection of the fermion dark matter and the collider search of Higgs-like scalars. We also present a ultra-violet completion of the dark matter model into the NMSSM with PQ symmetry., Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, To be published in Phys. Rev. D