QCD Axion Strings or Seeds?

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Blasi, Simone, Mariotti, Alberto
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Blasi, Simone
Mariotti, Alberto
author_facet Blasi, Simone
Mariotti, Alberto
contents We study the impact of QCD axion strings in the cosmological history of electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking, focussing on the minimal KSVZ axion model. We consider the case of the pure SM Higgs potential as well as a simple scenario with a first order EW phase transition. We capture the effect of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) sector within an effective-theory approach for the Higgs field, where the axion string core and the heavy PQ states are integrated out. The relevant parameters in this effective theory are controlled by the size of the portal coupling between the Higgs and the PQ scalar, and the mass of the PQ radial excitation. We determine the range of portal couplings for which the axion strings can strongly affect the dynamics of EW symmetry breaking. In the case of a first order EW phase transition, the strings can act as seeds by either catalyzing the nucleation of (non-spherical) bubbles, or leading to the completion of the phase transition by triggering a classical instability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_08060
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle QCD Axion Strings or Seeds?
Blasi, Simone
Mariotti, Alberto
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
We study the impact of QCD axion strings in the cosmological history of electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking, focussing on the minimal KSVZ axion model. We consider the case of the pure SM Higgs potential as well as a simple scenario with a first order EW phase transition. We capture the effect of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) sector within an effective-theory approach for the Higgs field, where the axion string core and the heavy PQ states are integrated out. The relevant parameters in this effective theory are controlled by the size of the portal coupling between the Higgs and the PQ scalar, and the mass of the PQ radial excitation. We determine the range of portal couplings for which the axion strings can strongly affect the dynamics of EW symmetry breaking. In the case of a first order EW phase transition, the strings can act as seeds by either catalyzing the nucleation of (non-spherical) bubbles, or leading to the completion of the phase transition by triggering a classical instability.
title QCD Axion Strings or Seeds?
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.08060