Axion Quality in Warped Extra-Dimension

Abstract

We investigate the axion quality problem in warped extra-dimensional models in which the QCD axion arises as the Wilson-line mode of a five-dimensional $U(1)$ gauge field compactified on an $S^1/{\mathbb{Z}}_2$ orbifold. Higher-dimensional gauge invariance severely constrains possible sources of Peccei--Quinn symmetry breaking, implying that non-QCD contributions to the axion potential are predominantly generated by nonlocal effects mediated by $U(1)$-charged fields propagating along the compact dimension. We systematically compute these contributions and examine how both the warped geometry and the orbifold fixed points (branes) affect the resulting axion quality. Finally, we classify the parametric suppression of the induced axion potential, thereby identifying the conditions under which warped extra-dimensional axions can achieve sufficiently high quality.

59 pages, 4 figures. Updated references and added a discussion of supersymmetric extensions of the charged matter sector