Opening up the QCD axion window

Abstract

We present a new mechanism to deplete the energy density of the QCD axion, making decay constants as high as $f_a\simeq 10^{17}\mathrm{GeV}$ viable for generic initial conditions. In our setup, the axion couples to a massless dark photon with a coupling that is moderately stronger than the axion coupling to gluons. Dark photons are produced copiously through a tachyonic instability when the axion field starts oscillating, and an exponential suppression of the axion density can be achieved. For a large part of the parameter space this dark radiation component of the universe can be observable in upcoming CMB experiments. Such dynamical depletion of the axion density ameliorates the isocurvature bound on the scale of inflation. The depletion also amplifies the power spectrum at scales that enter the horizon before particle production begins, potentially leading to axion miniclusters.

17 pages, 4 figures; v2: references added, minor changes, matches journal version

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• Parametric Resonance Production of Ultralight Vector Dark Matter
• Recent Progress in the Physics of Axions and Axion-Like Particles
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• The QCD Axion Window and Low Scale Inflation
• Whispers from the dark side: Confronting light new physics with NANOGrav data
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• Design and Implementation of the ABRACADABRA-10 cm Axion Dark Matter Search
• Light Dark Matter from Inflaton Decay
• Heavy QCD Axion in $b\to s$ transition: Enhanced Limits and Projections
• Ultralight Scalar Decay and the Hubble Tension
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• Implications of Gravitational-wave Production from Dark Photon Resonance to Pulsar-timing Observations and Effective Number of Relativistic Species
• On the Wondrous Stability of ALP Dark Matter
• Implications of the dark axion portal for the muon g-2, B-factories, fixed target neutrino experiments and beam dumps
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• Universality of linear perturbations in SU($N$)-natural inflation
• In medium properties of axion within a Polyakov loop enhanced Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model
• Non-thermally trapped inflation by tachyonic dark photon production
• Revisiting Isocurvature Bounds on the Minimal QCD Axion
• The Super-Planckian Axion Strikes Back
• Dark Matter from Entropy Perturbations in Curved Field Space
• Stochastic gravitational wave background: birth from string-wall death
• Phenomenology of wavelike vector dark matter nonminimally coupled to gravity
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• B-modes from Post-inflationary Gravitational Waves Sourced by Axionic Instabilities at Cosmic Reionization
• Heterotic M-Theory from the Clockwork Perspective
• Extension of the electrodynamics in the presence of the axion and dark photon
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• A Lighter QCD Axion from Anarchy
• A comprehensive study of ALPs from $B$-decays
• A Supersymmetric Flavor Clockwork
• Chiral Gravitational Wave Background from Audible Axion via Nieh-Yan Term
• Impact of Helical Electromagnetic Fields on the Axion Window
• Hidden Photon and Axion Dark Matter from Symmetry Breaking
• Majorana Neutrinos and Clockworked Yukawa Couplings contribution to non-observation of the rare leptonic decay $l_i\to l_j\gamma$, Clockwork Photon and Clockwork Graviton
• New Physics Searches at Kaon and Hyperon Factories
• Supercooled Audible Axions
• ALPs and Heavy Hadron Chiral Perturbation Theory