1
|
Bao Y, Fan J, Li L. Opening up a Window on the Postinflationary QCD Axion. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:241001. [PMID: 37390447 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.241001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
The QCD axion cosmology depends crucially on whether the QCD axion is present during inflation or not. We point out that contrary to the standard criterion, the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry could remain unbroken during inflation, even when the axion decay constant, f_{a}, is (much) above the inflationary Hubble scale, H_{I}. This is achieved through the heavy lifting of the PQ scalar field due to its leading nonrenormalizable interaction with the inflaton, encoded in a high-dimensional operator which respects the approximate shift symmetry of the inflaton. The mechanism opens up a new window for the post-inflationary QCD axion and significantly enlarges the parameter space, in which the QCD axion dark matter with f_{a}>H_{I} could be compatible with high-scale inflation and free from constraints on axion isocurvature perturbations. There also exist nonderivative couplings, which still keep the inflaton shift symmetry breaking under control, to achieve the heavy lifting of the PQ field during inflation. Additionally, by introducing an early matter domination era, more parameter space of high f_{a} could yield the observed DM abundance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunjia Bao
- Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - JiJi Fan
- Department of Physics and Brown Theoretical Physics Center, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
| | - Lingfeng Li
- Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liu T, Lou X, Ren J. Pulsar Polarization Arrays. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:121401. [PMID: 37027874 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.121401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) consisting of widely distributed and well-timed millisecond pulsars can serve as a galactic interferometer to measure gravitational waves. With the same data acquired for PTAs, we propose to develop pulsar polarization arrays (PPAs), to explore astrophysics and fundamental physics. As in the case of PTAs, PPAs are best suited to reveal temporal and spatial correlations at large scales that are hard to mimic by local noise. To demonstrate the physical potential of PPAs, we consider detection of ultralight axionlike dark matter (ALDM), through cosmic birefringence induced by its Chern-Simons coupling. Because of its tiny mass, the ultralight ALDM can be generated as a Bose-Einstein condensate, characterized by a strong wave nature. Incorporating both temporal and spatial correlations of the signal, we show that PPAs have a potential to probe the Chern-Simons coupling up to ∼10^{-14}-10^{-17} GeV^{-1}, with a mass range ∼10^{-27}-10^{-21} eV.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tao Liu
- Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong S.A.R., People's Republic of China
| | - Xuzixiang Lou
- Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong S.A.R., People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Ren
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bramante J, Kavanagh BJ, Raj N. Scattering Searches for Dark Matter in Subhalos: Neutron Stars, Cosmic Rays, and Old Rocks. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:231801. [PMID: 35749183 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.231801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In many cosmologies dark matter clusters on subkiloparsec scales and forms compact subhalos, in which the majority of Galactic dark matter could reside. Null results in direct detection experiments since their advent four decades ago could then be the result of extremely rare encounters between the Earth and these subhalos. We investigate alternative and promising means to identify subhalo dark matter interacting with standard model particles: (1) subhalo collisions with old neutron stars can transfer kinetic energy and brighten the latter to luminosities within the reach of imminent infrared, optical, and ultraviolet telescopes; we identify new detection strategies involving single-star measurements and Galactic disk surveys, and obtain the first bounds on self-interacting dark matter in subhalos from the coldest known pulsar, PSR J2144-3933; (2) subhalo dark matter scattering with cosmic rays results in detectable effects; (3) historic Earth-subhalo encounters can leave dark matter tracks in Paleolithic minerals deep underground. These searches could discover dark matter subhalos weighing between gigaton and solar masses, with corresponding dark matter cross sections and masses spanning tens of orders of magnitude.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Bramante
- The Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 2S8, Canada
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
| | - Bradley J Kavanagh
- Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA, UC-CSIC), Avenida de Los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - Nirmal Raj
- TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2A3, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Carr B, Kohri K, Sendouda Y, Yokoyama J. Constraints on primordial black holes. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2021; 84:116902. [PMID: 34874316 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6633/ac1e31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We update the constraints on the fraction of the Universe that may have gone into primordial black holes (PBHs) over the mass range 10-5to 1050 g. Those smaller than ∼1015 g would have evaporated by now due to Hawking radiation, so their abundance at formation is constrained by the effects of evaporated particles on big bang nucleosynthesis, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the Galactic and extragalacticγ-ray and cosmic ray backgrounds and the possible generation of stable Planck mass relics. PBHs larger than ∼1015 g are subject to a variety of constraints associated with gravitational lensing, dynamical effects, influence on large-scale structure, accretion and gravitational waves. We discuss the constraints on both the initial collapse fraction and the current fraction of the dark matter (DM) in PBHs at each mass scale but stress that many of the constraints are associated with observational or theoretical uncertainties. We also consider indirect constraints associated with the amplitude of the primordial density fluctuations, such as second-order tensor perturbations andμ-distortions arising from the effect of acoustic reheating on the CMB, if PBHs are created from the high-σpeaks of nearly Gaussian fluctuations. Finally we discuss how the constraints are modified if the PBHs have an extended mass function, this being relevant if PBHs provide some combination of the DM, the LIGO/Virgo coalescences and the seeds for cosmic structure. Even if PBHs make a small contribution to the DM, they could play an important cosmological role and provide a unique probe of the early Universe.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Carr
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
- Research Center for the Early Universe (RESCEU), Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Kazunori Kohri
- Theory Center, IPNS, KEK, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8568, Japan
| | - Yuuiti Sendouda
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8561, Japan
| | - Jun'ichi Yokoyama
- Research Center for the Early Universe (RESCEU), Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8568, Japan
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
- Trans-Scale Quantum Science Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Choi HG, Park C, Jung S. Small-scale shear: Peeling off diffuse subhalos with gravitational waves. Int J Clin Exp Med 2021. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.104.063001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
6
|
|
7
|
Erickcek AL, Ralegankar P, Shelton J. Cannibal domination and the matter power spectrum. Int J Clin Exp Med 2021. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.103.103508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
8
|
Phillips DF, Ravi A, Ebadi R, Walsworth RL. Milky Way Accelerometry via Millisecond Pulsar Timing. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 126:141103. [PMID: 33891440 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.126.141103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The temporal stability of millisecond pulsars is remarkable, rivaling even some terrestrial atomic clocks at long timescales. Using this property, we show that millisecond pulsars distributed in the galactic neighborhood form an ensemble of accelerometers from which we can directly extract the local galactic acceleration. From pulsar spin period measurements, we demonstrate acceleration sensitivity with about 1σ precision using 117 pulsars. We also present a complementary analysis using orbital periods of 13 binary pulsar systems that eliminates the systematics associated with pulsar braking and results in a local acceleration of (1.7±0.5)×10^{-10} m/s^{2} in good agreement with expectations. This work is a first step toward dynamically measuring acceleration gradients that will eventually inform us about the dark matter density distribution in the Milky Way galaxy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David F Phillips
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Aakash Ravi
- Quantum Technology Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Reza Ebadi
- Quantum Technology Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Ronald L Walsworth
- Quantum Technology Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Mondino C, Taki AM, Van Tilburg K, Weiner N. First Results on Dark Matter Substructure from Astrometric Weak Lensing. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:111101. [PMID: 32975982 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.111101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Low-mass structures of dark matter (DM) are expected to be entirely devoid of light-emitting regions and baryons. Precisely because of this lack of baryonic feedback, small-scale substructures of the Milky Way are a relatively pristine testing ground for discovering aspects of DM microphysics and primordial fluctuations on subgalactic scales. In this Letter, we report results from the first search for Galactic DM subhalos with time-domain astrometric weak gravitational lensing. The analysis is based on a matched-filter template of local lensing corrections to the proper motion of stars in the Magellanic Clouds. We describe a data analysis pipeline detailing sample selection, background subtraction, and the handling of outliers and other systematics. For tentative candidate lenses, we identify a signature based on an anomalous parallax template that can unequivocally confirm the presence of a DM lens, opening up prospects for robust discovery potential with full time-series data. We present our constraints on substructure fraction f_{l}≲5 at 90% C.L. (and f_{l}≲2 at 50% C.L.) for compact lenses with radii r_{l}<1 pc, with best sensitivity reached for lens masses M_{l} around 10^{7}-10^{8} M_{⊙}. Parametric improvements are expected with future astrometric datasets; by end of mission, Gaia could reach f_{l}≲10^{-3} for these massive point-like objects and be sensitive to lighter and/or more extended subhalos for O(1) substructure fractions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Mondino
- Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
| | - Anna-Maria Taki
- Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
- Institute for Fundamental Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA
| | - Ken Van Tilburg
- Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, New York, New York 10010, USA
| | - Neal Weiner
- Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Chen ZC, Yuan C, Huang QG. Pulsar Timing Array Constraints on Primordial Black Holes with NANOGrav 11-Year Dataset. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 124:251101. [PMID: 32639789 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.124.251101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The detection of binary black hole coalescences by LIGO and Virgo has aroused the interest in primordial black holes (PBHs), because they could be both the progenitors of these black holes and a compelling candidate of dark matter (DM). PBHs are formed soon after the enhanced scalar perturbations reenter horizon during the radiation dominated era, which would inevitably induce gravitational waves as well. Searching for such scalar induced gravitational waves (SIGWs) provides an elegant way to probe PBHs. We perform the first direct search for the signals of SIGWs accompanying the formation of PBHs in the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational waves (NANOGrav) 11-year dataset. No statistically significant detection has been made, and hence we place a stringent upper limit on the abundance of PBHs at 95% confidence level. In particular, less than one part in a million of the total DM mass could come from PBHs in the mass range of [2×10^{-3},7×10^{-1}] M_{⊙}.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zu-Cheng Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, United Kingdom
| | - Chen Yuan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qing-Guo Huang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
- School of Fundamental Physics and Mathematical Sciences Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, UCAS, Hangzhou 310024, China
- Center for Gravitation and Cosmology, College of Physical Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center for Quantum Effects and Applications, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Buschmann M, Foster JW, Safdi BR. Early-Universe Simulations of the Cosmological Axion. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 124:161103. [PMID: 32383908 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.124.161103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Ultracompact dark matter (DM) minihalos at masses at and below 10^{-12} M_{⊙} arise in axion DM models where the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is broken after inflation. The minihalos arise from density perturbations that are generated from the nontrivial axion self-interactions during and shortly after the collapse of the axion-string and domain-wall network. We perform high-resolution simulations of this scenario starting at the epoch before the PQ phase transition and ending at matter-radiation equality. We characterize the spectrum of primordial perturbations that are generated and comment on implications for efforts to detect axion DM. We also measure the DM density at different simulated masses and argue that the correct DM density is obtained for m_{a}=25.2±11.0 μeV.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Malte Buschmann
- Leinweber Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
| | - Joshua W Foster
- Leinweber Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
| | - Benjamin R Safdi
- Leinweber Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Arvanitaki A, Dimopoulos S, Galanis M, Lehner L, Thompson JO, Van Tilburg K. Large-misalignment mechanism for the formation of compact axion structures: Signatures from the QCD axion to fuzzy dark matter. Int J Clin Exp Med 2020. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.101.083014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
13
|
Nakama T. Stochastic gravitational waves associated with primordial black holes formed during an early matter era. Int J Clin Exp Med 2020. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.101.063519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
14
|
Blanco C, Delos MS, Erickcek AL, Hooper D. Annihilation signatures of hidden sector dark matter within early-forming microhalos. Int J Clin Exp Med 2019. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.100.103010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|
15
|
Caputo A, Sberna L, Frías M, Blas D, Pani P, Shao L, Yan W. Constraints on millicharged dark matter and axionlike particles from timing of radio waves. Int J Clin Exp Med 2019. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.100.063515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
|