Tag Archives: High Energy Physics – Phenomenology

The $EB$-correlation in Resolved Polarized Images: Connections to Astrophysics of Black Holes [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00387


We present an in-depth analysis of a newly proposed correlation function in visibility space, between the $E$ and $B$ modes of the linear polarization, hereafter the $EB$-correlation, for a set of time-averaged GRMHD simulations compared with the phase map from different semi-analytic models as well as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 2017 data for M87* source. We demonstrate that the phase map of the time-averaged $EB$-correlation contains novel information that might be linked to the BH spin, accretion state and the electron temperature. A detailed comparison with a semi-analytic approach with different azimuthal expansion modes shows that to recover the morphology of the real/imaginary part of the correlation function and its phase, we require higher orders of these azimuthal modes. To extract the phase features, we propose to use the Zernike polynomial reconstruction developing an empirical metric to break degeneracies between models with different BH spins that are qualitatively similar. We use a set of different geometrical ring models with various magnetic and velocity field morphologies and show that both the image space and visibility based $EB$-correlation morphologies in MAD simulations can be explained with simple fluid and magnetic field geometries as used in ring models. SANEs by contrast are harder to model, demonstrating that the simple fluid and magnetic field geometries of ring models are not sufficient to describe them owing to higher Faraday Rotation depths. A qualitative comparison with the EHT data demonstrates that some of the features in the phase of $EB$-correlation might be well explained by the current models for BH spins as well as electron temperatures, while others may require a larger theoretical surveys.

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R. Emami, S. Doeleman, M. Wielgus, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
46/57

Comments: 26 pages, 21 Figures

Determination of the neutron skin of $^{208}$Pb from ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00015


Emergent bulk properties of matter governed by the strong nuclear force give rise to physical phenomena across vastly different scales, ranging from the shape of atomic nuclei to the masses and radii of neutron stars. They can be accessed on Earth by measuring the spatial extent of the outer skin made of neutrons that characterises the surface of heavy nuclei. The isotope $^{208}$Pb, owing to its simple structure and neutron excess, has been in this context the target of many dedicated efforts. Here, we determine the neutron skin from measurements of particle distributions and their collective flow in $^{208}$Pb+$^{208}$Pb collisions at ultrarelativistic energy performed at the Large Hadron Collider, which are sensitive to the overall size of the colliding $^{208}$Pb ions. By means of state-of-the-art global analysis tools within the hydrodynamic model of heavy-ion collisions, we infer a neutron skin $\Delta r_{np}=0.217\pm0.058$ fm, consistent with nuclear theory predictions, and competitive in accuracy with a recent determination from parity-violating asymmetries in polarised electron scattering. We establish thus a new experimental method to systematically measure neutron distributions in the ground state of atomic nuclei.

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G. Giacalone, G. Nijs and W. Schee
Tue, 2 May 23
47/57

Comments: 8 pages, 6 figures. The Trajectum code can be found at this https URL Plotting routines can be found at this http URL

Novel high-frequency gravitational waves detection with split cavity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00877


Gravitational waves can generate electromagnetic effects inside a strong electric or magnetic field within the Standard Model and general relativity. Here we propose using a quarterly split cavity and LC-resonance circuit to detect a high-frequency gravitational wave from 0.1 MHz to GHz. We perform a full 3D simulation of the cavity’s signal for sensitivity estimate. Our sensitivity depends on the coherence time scale of the high-frequency gravitational wave sources and the volume size of the split cavity. We discuss the resonant measurement schemes for narrow-band gravitational wave sources and also a non-resonance scheme for broadband signals. For a meter-sized split cavity under a 14 Tesla magnetic field, the LC resonance enhanced sensitivity to the gravitational wave strain is expected to reach $h\sim 10^{-20}$ around $10$ MHz.

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C. Gao, Y. Gao, Y. Liu, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
50/57

Comments: 8 pages, 7 figures

Measuring Inflaton Couplings via Primordial Gravitational Waves [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00027


We investigate the reach of future gravitational wave (GW) detectors in probing inflaton couplings with visible sector particles that can either be bosonic or fermionic in nature. Assuming reheating takes place through perturbative quantum production from vacuum in presence of classical inflaton background field, we find that the spectral energy density of the primordial GW generated during inflation becomes sensitive to inflaton-matter coupling. We conclude, obeying bounds from Big Bang Nucleosysthesis and Cosmic Microwave Background, that, e.g., inflaton-scalar couplings of the order of $\sim\mathcal{O}(10^{-20})$ GeV fall within the sensitivity range of several proposed GW detector facilities. However, this prediction is sensitive to the size of the inflationary scale, nature of the inflaton-matter interaction and shape of the potential during reheating. Having found the time-dependent effective inflaton decay width, we also discuss its implications for dark matter (DM) production from the thermal plasma via UV freeze-in during reheating. It is shown, that one can reproduce the observed DM abundance for its mass up to several PeVs, depending on the dimension of the operator connecting DM with the thermal bath and the associated scale of the UV physics. Thus we promote primordial GW to observables sensitive to feebly coupled inflaton, which is very challenging if not impossible to test in conventional particle physics laboratories or astrophysical measurements.

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B. Barman, A. Ghoshal, B. Grzadkowski, et. al.
Tue, 2 May 23
55/57

Comments: 40 pages, 7 figures, 2 Tables

The Flavor of QCD Axion Dark Matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2305.00018


We argue that demanding a consistent cosmological history, including the absence of domain walls and strongly interacting relics at the Peccei-Quinn scale, singles out two concrete realizations of hadronic QCD axions as viable dark matter models. These realizations generally feature flavor-violating axion couplings to Standard Model quarks that are unsuppressed at low energies. As a consequence, experiments looking for flavor-violating hadronic processes involving the axion can be sensitive probes of QCD axion dark matter models. In particular, we show that the NA62 and KOTO experiments could detect the $K\rightarrow\pi + a$ decay for axions consistent with the observed dark matter abundance via the post-inflationary misalignment mechanism.

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G. Alonso-Álvarez, J. Cline and T. Xiao
Tue, 2 May 23
57/57

Comments: 11 pages, 4 figures

Revisiting constraints on the photon rest mass with cosmological fast radio bursts [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14784


Fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been suggested as an excellent celestial laboratory for testing the zero-mass hypothesis of the photon. In this work, we use the dispersion measure (DM)–redshift measurements of 23 localized FRBs to revisit the photon rest mass $m_{\gamma}$. As an improvement over previous studies, here we take into account the more realistic probability distributions of DMs contributed by the FRB host galaxy and intergalactic medium (IGM) from the IllustrisTNG simulation. To better account for the systematic uncertainty induced by the choices of priors of cosmological parameters, we also combine the FRB data with the cosmic microwave background data, the baryon acoustic oscillation data, and type Ia supernova data to constrain the cosmological parameters and $m_{\gamma}$ simultaneously. We derive a new upper limit of $m_{\gamma}\le3.8\times 10^{-51}\;\rm{kg}$, or equivalently $m_{\gamma}\le2.1 \times 10^{-15} \, \rm{eV/c^2}$ ($m_{\gamma} \le 7.2 \times 10^{-51} \, \rm{kg}$, or equivalently $m_{\gamma}\le4.0 \times 10^{-15} \, \rm{eV/c^2}$) at $1\sigma$ ($2\sigma$) confidence level. Meanwhile, our analysis can also lead to a reasonable estimation for the IGM baryon fraction $f_{\rm IGM}=0.873^{+0.061}{-0.050}$. With the number increment of localized FRBs, the constraints on both $m{\gamma}$ and $f_{\rm IGM}$ will be further improved. A caveat of constraining $m_{\gamma}$ within the context of the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model is also discussed.

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B. Wang, J. Wei, X. Wu, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
4/51

Comments: 14 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables

Scalar polarization window in gravitational-wave signals [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14430


Scalar polarization modes of gravitational waves, which are often introduced in the context of the viable extension of gravity, have been actively searched. However, couplings of the scalar modes to the matter are strongly constrained by the fifth-force experiments. Thus, the amplitude of scalar polarization in the observed gravitational-wave signal must be significantly suppressed compared to that of the tensor modes. Here, we discuss the implications of the experiments in the solar system on the detectability of scalar modes in gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences, taking into account the whole processes from the generation to the observation of gravitational waves. We first claim that the energy carried by the scalar modes at the generation is, at most, that of the tensor modes from the observed phase evolution of the inspiral gravitational waves. Next, we formulate general gravitational-wave propagation and point out that the energy flux hardly changes through propagation as long as the background changes slowly compared to the wavelength of the propagating waves. Finally, we show that the possible magnitude of scalar polarization modes detected by the ground-based gravitational-wave telescopes is already severely constrained by the existing gravity tests in the solar system.

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H. Takeda, Y. Manita, H. Omiya, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
30/51

Comments: 18 pages

Prometheus: An Open-Source Neutrino Telescope Simulation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14526


Neutrino telescopes are gigaton-scale neutrino detectors comprised of individual light-detection units. Though constructed from simple building blocks, they have opened a new window to the Universe and are able to probe center-of-mass energies that are comparable to those of collider experiments. \prometheus{} is a new, open-source simulation tailored for this kind of detector. Our package, which is written in a combination of \texttt{C++} and \texttt{Python} provides a balance of ease of use and performance and allows the user to simulate a neutrino telescope with arbitrary geometry deployed in ice or water. \prometheus{} simulates the neutrino interactions in the volume surrounding the detector, computes the light yield of the hadronic shower and the out-going lepton, propagates the photons in the medium, and records their arrival times and position in user-defined regions. Finally, \prometheus{} events are serialized into a \texttt{parquet} file, which is a compact and interoperational file format that allows prompt access to the events for further analysis.

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J. Lazar, S. Meighen-Berger, C. Haack, et. al.
Mon, 1 May 23
41/51

Comments: Code can be found here: this https URL 17 pages. 9 figures. Appendix with detailed examples

Multi-field inflation with large scalar fluctuations: non-Gaussianity and perturbativity [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14260


Recently multi-field inflation models that can produce large scalar fluctuations on small scales have drawn a lot of attention, primarily because they could lead to primordial black hole production and generation of large second-order gravitational waves. In this work, we focus on models where the scalar fields responsible for inflation live on a hyperbolic field space. In this case, geometrical destabilisation and non-geodesic motion are responsible for the peak in the scalar power spectrum. We present new results for scalar non-Gaussianity and discuss its dependence on the model’s parameters. On scales around the peak, we typically find that the non-Gaussianity is large and close to local in form. We validate our results by employing two different numerical techniques, utilising the transport approach, based on full cosmological perturbation theory, and the $\delta N$ formalism, based on the separate universe approximation. We discuss implications of our results for the perturbativity of the underlying theory, focusing in particular on versions of these models with potentially relevant phenomenology at interferometer scales.

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L. Iacconi and D. Mulryne
Fri, 28 Apr 23
10/68

Comments: 36 pages, 17 figures

Baryogenesis from sphaleron decoupling [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13999


The electroweak sphaleron process breaks the baryon number conservation within the realms of the Standard Model of particle physics (SM). Recently, it is pointed out that its decoupling may provide the out-of-equilibrium condition required for baryogenesis. In this paper, we study such a scenario taking into account the baryon-number wash-out effect of the sphaleron itself to improve the estimate. We clarify the amount of CP violation required for this scenario to explain the observed asymmetry.

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M. Hong, K. Kamada and J. Yokoyama
Fri, 28 Apr 23
14/68

Comments: 16 pages, 5 figures

Dynamics of axion-neutral pseudoscalar mixing [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13884


Axions mix with neutral pions after the QCD phase transition through their common coupling to the radiation bath via a Chern-Simons term, as a consequence of the $U(1)$ anomaly. The non-equilibrium effective action that describes this mixing phenomenon is obtained to second order in the coupling of neutral pions and axions to photons. We show that a misaligned axion condensate induces a neutral pion condensate after the QCD phase transition. The dynamics of the pion condensate displays long and short time scales and decays on the longer time scale exhibiting a phenomenon akin to the “purification” in a Kaon beam. On the intermediate time scales the macroscopic pion condensate is proportional to a condensate of the abelian Chern-Simons term induced by the axion. We argue that the coupling to the common bath also induces kinetic mixing. We obtain the axion and pion populations, and these exhibit thermalization with the bath. The mutual coupling to the bath induces long-lived axion- neutral pion coherence independent of initial conditions. The framework of the effective action and many of the consequences are more broadly general and applicable to scalar or pseudoscalar particles mixing in a medium.

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S. Cao, W. Huang and D. Boyanovsky
Fri, 28 Apr 23
51/68

Comments: 35 pages, 2 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2209.07658

Perturbative Correction to the Average Expansion Rate of Spacetimes with Perfect Fluids [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.14187


This paper discusses the leading-order correction induced by cosmological perturbations on the average expansion rate of an expanding spacetime, containing one or many perfect fluids. The calculation is carried out up to the second order in the perturbations, and is kept as general as possible. In particular, no approximation such as a long-wavelength or a short-wavelength limit is invoked, and all three types of perturbations (scalar, vector, and tensor) are considered. First, the average value of the expansion rate is computed over a three-dimensional space-like surface where the total density of the fluids is constant. Then, a formula is derived relating that average value to the one over any other surface, on which a different scalar property of the fluids is constant. Moreover, the general formulas giving the correction to the average expansion rate are applied, in particular, to the case of a spacetime containing a single fluid with a constant equation of state. The sign and the effective equation of state of the corresponding back-reaction effect in the first Friedmann equation are examined.

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V. Comeau
Fri, 28 Apr 23
53/68

Comments: N/A

Boson Star Normal Modes [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13054


Boson stars are gravitationally bound objects that arise in ultralight dark matter models and form in the centers of galactic halos or axion miniclusters. We systematically study the excitations of a boson star, taking into account the mixing between positive and negative frequencies introduced by gravity. We show that the spectrum contains zero-energy modes in the monopole and dipole sectors resulting from spontaneous symmetry breaking by the boson star background. We analyze the general properties of the eigenmodes and derive their orthogonality and completeness conditions which have non-standard form due to the positive-negative frequency mixing. The eigenvalue problem is solved numerically for the first few energy levels in different multipole sectors and the results are compared to the solutions of the Schr\”odinger equation in fixed boson star gravitational potential. The two solutions differ significantly for the lowest modes, but get close for higher levels. We further confirm the normal mode spectrum in 3D wave simulations where we inject perturbations with different multipoles. As an application of the normal mode solutions, we compute the matrix element entering the evaporation rate of a boson star immersed in a hot axion gas. The computation combines the use of exact wavefunctions for the low-lying bound states and of the Schr\”odinger approximation for the high-energy excitations.

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J. Chan, S. Sibiryakov and W. Xue
Thu, 27 Apr 23
14/78

Comments: 33 pages, 21 figures

Searching For Stochastic Gravitational Waves Below a Nanohertz [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13042


The stochastic gravitational-wave background is imprinted on the times of arrival of radio pulses from millisecond pulsars. Traditional pulsar timing analyses fit a timing model to each pulsar and search the residuals of the fit for a stationary time correlation. This method breaks down at gravitational-wave frequencies below the inverse observation time of the array; therefore, existing analyses restrict their searches to frequencies above 1 nHz. An effective method to overcome this challenge is to study the correlation of secular drifts of parameters in the pulsar timing model itself. In this paper, we show that timing model correlations are sensitive to sub-nanohertz stochastic gravitational waves and perform a search using existing measurements of binary spin-down rates and pulsar spin-decelerations. We do not observe a signal at our present sensitivity, constraining the stochastic gravitational-wave relic energy density to $\Omega_\text{GW} ( f ) < 3.9 \times 10 ^{ – 9} $ at 450 pHz with sensitivity which scales as the frequency squared until approximately 10 pHz. We place additional limits on the amplitude of a power-law spectrum of $A_\star \lesssim 8\times10^{-15}$ for the spectral index expected from supermassive black hole binaries, $\gamma = 13/3$. If a detection of a supermassive black hole binary signal above 1 nHz is confirmed, this search method will serve as a critical complementary probe of the dynamics of galaxy evolution.

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W. DeRocco and J. Dror
Thu, 27 Apr 23
26/78

Comments: 13 pages, 2 figures

Bouncing and inflationary dynamics in quantum cosmology in the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13059


The quantum cosmology of the flat Friedmann-Lema{\^i}tre-Robertson-Walker Universe, filled with a scalar field, is considered in the de Broglie-Bohm (dBB) interpretation framework. A stiff-matter quantum bounce solution is obtained. The bouncing and subsequent pre-inflationary and inflationary dynamics are studied in details. We consider some representative primordial inflation models as examples, for which analytical expressions characterizing the dynamical quantities can be explicitly derived. The dependence of the inflationary dynamics on the quantum bounce parameters is then analyzed. The parameters emerging from our description are constrained by requiring the produced dynamics to be in accordance with some key cosmological quantities. The constraining conditions are also illustrated through regions of parameter space in terms of the bounce quantities.

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G. Vicente, R. Ramos and V. Magalhães
Thu, 27 Apr 23
27/78

Comments: 18 pages, 2 figures

Halo Formation from Yukawa Forces in the Very Early Universe [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13053


If long-range attractive forces exist and are stronger than gravity then cosmic halo formation can begin in the radiation-dominated era. We study a simple realization of this effect in a system where dark matter fermions have Yukawa interactions mediated by scalar particles, analogous to the Higgs boson in the standard model. We develop a self-consistent description of the system including exact background dynamics of the scalar field, and precise modelling of the fermion density fluctuations. For the latter, we provide accurate approximations for the linear growth as well as quantitative modelling of the nonlinear evolution using N-body simulations. We find that halo formation occurs exponentially fast and on scales substantially larger than simple estimates predict. The final fate of these halos remains uncertain, but could be annihilation, dark stars, primordial black holes, or even the existence of galaxy-sized halos at matter-radiation equality. More generally, our results demonstrate the importance of mapping scalar-mediated interactions onto structure formation outcomes and constraints for beyond the standard model theories.

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G. Domènech, D. Inman, A. Kusenko, et. al.
Thu, 27 Apr 23
36/78

Comments: 22 pages + references, 13 figures

Inflation Correlators at the One-Loop Order: Nonanalyticity, Factorization, Cutting Rule, and OPE [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13295


Inflation correlators with one-loop massive exchange encode rich information about the dynamics of the massive loop particles. Their nonanalytic behavior in certain soft limits leads to characteristic oscillatory pattern, which is the leading signal of many particle models of cosmological collider physics. In this work, we investigate systematically such nonanalyticity for arbitrary one-particle-irreducible (1PI) one-loop correlators in various soft limits. With the partial Mellin-Barnes representation, we present and prove a factorization theorem and a cutting rule for arbitrary 1PI one-loop inflation correlators, which is reminiscent of the on-shell cutting rule for flat-space scattering amplitudes. We also show how to understand this factorization theorem from the viewpoint of operator product expansion on the future boundary. As an application of the one-loop factorization theorem, we derive new analytic and exact formulae for nonlocal cosmological collider signals for massive one-loop four-point inflation correlators of all possible 1PI topologies, including the bubble, the triangle, and the box graphs. Finally, we show how to push the computation of nonlocal signals to higher orders in the momentum ratio.

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Z. Qin and Z. Xianyu
Thu, 27 Apr 23
37/78

Comments: 60 pages

Inflaton phenomenology via reheating in the light of PGWs and latest BICEP/$Keck$ data [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13637


We are in the era of precision cosmology which offers us a unique opportunity to investigate beyond standard model physics. Towards this endeavor, inflaton is assumed to be a perfect new physics candidate. In this submission, we explore the phenomenological impact of the latest observation of PLANCK and BICEP/$Keck$ data on the physics of inflation. We particularly study three different models of inflation, namely $\alpha$-attractor E, T, and the minimal plateau model. We further consider two different post-inflationary reheating dynamics driven by inflaton decaying into Bosons and Fermions. Given the latest data in the inflationary $(n_s-r)$ plane, we derive detailed phenomenological constraints on different inflaton parameters and the associated physical quantities, such as inflationary e-folding number, $N_{ k}$, reheating temperatures $T_{\rm re}$. Apart from considering direct observational data, we further incorporate the bounds from primordial gravitational waves (PGWs) and different theoretical constraints. Rather than in the laboratory, our results illustrate the potential of present and future cosmological observations to look for new physics in the sky.

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A. Chakraborty, M. Haque, D. Maity, et. al.
Thu, 27 Apr 23
43/78

Comments: 17 pages, 8 tables and 10 figures

Preheating in Einstein-Cartan Higgs Inflation: Oscillon formation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13056


We make use of classical lattice simulations in 3 + 1 dimensions to study the preheating stage of Higgs Inflation in Einstein-Cartan gravity. Focusing for concreteness on a simplified scenario involving the seminal Nieh-Yan term, we demonstrate the formation of dense and spatially localized oscillon configurations constituting up to 70% of the total energy density. The emergence of these meta-stable objects may lead to a prolonged period of matter domination, effectively modifying the post-inflationary history of the Universe as compared to the metric and Palatini counterparts. Notably, the creation of oscillons comes together with a significant gravitational wave signal, whose typical frequency lies, however, beyond the range accessible by existing and planned gravitational wave experiments. The impact of the Standard Model gauge bosons and fermions and the potential extension of our results to more general Einstein-Cartan settings is also discussed.

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M. Piani and J. Rubio
Thu, 27 Apr 23
56/78

Comments: 28 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. Link for the animation: this https URL

Do we have enough evidence to invalidate the mean-field approximation adopted to model collective neutrino oscillations? [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13050


Recent body of work points out that the mean-field approximation, widely employed to mimic the neutrino field within a neutrino-dense source, might give different results in terms of flavor evolution with respect to the correspondent many-body treatment. In this paper, we investigate whether such conclusions derived within a constrained framework should hold in an astrophysical context. We show that the plane waves, commonly adopted in the many-body literature to model the neutrino field, provide results that are crucially different with respect to the ones obtained using wavepackets of finite size streaming with a non-zero velocity. The many-body approach intrinsically includes coherent and incoherent scatterings. The mean-field approximation, on the other hand, only takes into account the coherent scattering in the absence of the collision term. Even if incoherent scatterings are included in the mean-field approach, the nature of the collision term is different from that in the many-body approach. Because of this, if only a finite number of neutrinos is considered, as often assumed, the two approaches naturally lead to different flavor outcomes. These differences are further exacerbated by vacuum mixing. We conclude that existing many-body literature, based on closed neutrino systems with a finite number of particles, is neither able to rule out nor assess the validity of the mean-field approach adopted to simulate the evolution of the neutrino field in dense astrophysical sources, which are open systems.

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S. Shalgar and I. Tamborra
Thu, 27 Apr 23
58/78

Comments: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 column revtex format

Stochastic gravitational-wave background at 3G detectors as a smoking gun for microscopic dark matter relics [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13576


Microscopic horizonless relics could form in the early universe either directly through gravitational collapse or as stable remnants of the Hawking evaporation of primordial black holes. In both cases they completely or partially evade cosmological constraints arising from Hawking evaporation and in certain mass ranges can explain the entirety of the dark matter. We systematically explore the stochastic gravitational-wave background associated with the formation of microscopic dark-matter relics in various scenarios, adopting an agnostic approach and discussing the limitations introduced by existing constraints, possible ways to circumvent the latter, and expected astrophysical foregrounds. Interestingly, this signal is at most marginally detectable with current interferometers but could be detectable by third-generations instruments such as the Einstein Telescope, strengthening their potential as discovery machines.

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G. Franciolini and P. Pani
Thu, 27 Apr 23
74/78

Comments: 11 pages, 4 figures

Direct detection of finite-size dark matter via electron recoil [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13243


In direct dark matter (DM) detection via scattering off the electrons, the momentum transfer plays a crucial role. Previous work showed that for self-interacting DM, if the DM particle has a size (the so-called puffy DM), the radius effect could dominate the momentum transfer and become another source of velocity dependence for self-scattering cross section. In this work we investigate the direct detection of puffy DM particles with different radii through electron recoil. We find that comparing with the available experimental exclusion limits dominated by the mediator effect for XENON10, XENON100 and XENON1T, the constraints on the puffy DM-electron scattering cross-section become much weaker for large radius DM particles. For small-radius DM particles, the constraints remain similar to the point-like DM case.

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W. Wang, W. Xu and J. Yang
Thu, 27 Apr 23
75/78

Comments: 11 pages, 2 figures

How an era of kination impacts substructure and the dark matter annihilation rate [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12336


An era of kination occurs when the Universe’s energy density is dominated by a fast-rolling scalar field. Dark matter that is thermally produced during an era of kination requires larger-than-canonical annihilation cross sections to generate the observed dark matter relic abundance. Furthermore, dark matter density perturbations that enter the horizon during an era of kination grow linearly with the scale factor prior to radiation domination. We show how the resulting enhancement to the small-scale matter power spectrum increases the microhalo abundance and boosts the dark matter annihilation rate. We then use gamma-ray observations to constrain thermal dark matter production during kination. The annihilation boost factor depends on the minimum halo mass, which is determined by the small-scale cutoff in the matter power spectrum. Therefore, observational limits on the dark matter annihilation rate imply a minimum cutoff scale for a given dark matter particle mass and kination scenario. For dark matter that was once in thermal equilibrium with the Standard Model, this constraint establishes a maximum allowed kinetic decoupling temperature for the dark matter. This bound on the decoupling temperature implies that the growth of perturbations during kination cannot appreciably boost the dark matter annihilation rate if dark matter was once in thermal equilibrium with the Standard Model.

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M. Delos, K. Redmond and A. Erickcek
Wed, 26 Apr 23
1/62

Comments: 23 pages, 18 figures

Non-thermal Higgs Spectrum in Reheating Epoch: Primordial Condensate vs. Stochastic Fluctuation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12578


Since electroweak symmetry is generally broken during inflation, the Standard Model Higgs field can become supermassive even after the end of inflation. In this paper, we study the non-thermal phase space distribution of the Higgs field during reheating, focusing in particular on two different contributions: primordial condensate and stochastic fluctuations. We obtain their analytic formulae, which agree with the previous numerical result. As a possible consequence of the non-thermal Higgs spectrum, we discuss perturbative Higgs decay during reheating for the case it is kinematically allowed. We find that the soft-relativistic and hard spectra are dominant in the decay rate of the stochastic fluctuation and that the primordial condensate and stochastic fluctuations decay almost at the same time.

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K. Kaneta and K. Oda
Wed, 26 Apr 23
13/62

Comments: 20 pages, 3 figures

Production rates of dark photons and $Z'$ in the Sun and stellar cooling bounds [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12907


Light weakly interacting particles could be copiously produced in the Sun which, as a well-understood star, could provide severe constraints on such new physics. In this work, we calculate the solar production rates of light gauge bosons (e.g. dark photon) arising from various $U(1)$ extensions of the standard model. It is known that the dark photon production rate is suppressed by the dark photon mass if it is well below the plasmon mass of the medium. We show that for more general $U(1)$ gauge bosons, this suppression is absent if the couplings are not in alignment with those of the photon. We investigate a few frequently discussed $U(1)$ models including $B-L$, $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$, and $L_{e}-L_{\mu(\tau)}$, and derive the stellar cooling bounds for these models.

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S. Li and X. Xu
Wed, 26 Apr 23
22/62

Comments: 22 pages, 4 figures. Comments are welcome

Evolution of Resonant Self-interacting Dark Matter Halos [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12621


Recent analysis on the stellar kinematics of ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies has put a stringent upper limit on the self-scattering cross section of dark matter, i.e., $\sigma/m<{\cal O}(0.1)\,{\rm cm^2/g}$ at the scattering velocity of ${\cal O}(10)\,{\rm km/s}$. Resonant self-interacting dark matter (rSIDM) is one possibility that can be consistent with the UFDs and explain the low central densities of rotation-supported galaxies; the cross section is resonantly enhanced to be $\sigma/m = {\cal O}(1)\,{\rm cm^2/g}$ around the scattering velocity of ${\cal O}(100)\,{\rm km/s}$ while being suppressed at lower velocities. To further assess this possibility, since the inferred dark matter distribution of halos from astrophysical observations is usually compared to that in constant-cross section SIDM (cSIDM), whether the structures of rSIDM halos can be approximated by the cSIDM halo profiles needs to be clarified. In this work, we employ the grovothermal fluid method to investigate the structural evolution of rSIDM halos in a wide mass range. We find that except for halos in a specific mass range, the present structures of rSIDM halos are virtually indistinguishable from those of the cSIDM halos. For halos in the specific mass range, the resonant self-scattering renders a break in their density profile. We demonstrate how such a density-profile break appears in astrophysical observations, e.g., rotation curves and line-of-sight velocity dispersion profiles. We show that for halos above the specific mass range, the density-profile break thermalizes to disappear before the present. We demonstrate that such distinctive thermalization dynamics can leave imprints on the orbital classes of stars with similar ages and metallicities.

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A. Kamada and H. Kim
Wed, 26 Apr 23
24/62

Comments: 18 pages, 9 figures

Lorentz Violation in Finsler Geometry [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12767


Lorentz invariance is one of the foundations of modern physics; however, Lorentz violation may happen from the perspective of quantum gravity, and plenty of studies on Lorentz violation have arisen in recent years. As a good tool to explore Lorentz violation, Finsler geometry is a natural and fundamental generalization of Riemann geometry. The Finsler structure depends on both coordinates and velocities. Here, we simply introduce the mathematics of Finsler geometry. We review the connection between modified dispersion relations and Finsler geometries and discuss the physical influence from Finsler geometry. We review the connection between Finsler geometries and theories of Lorentz violation, such as the doubly special relativity, the standard-model extension, and the very special relativity.

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J. Zhu and B. Ma
Wed, 26 Apr 23
30/62

Comments: 29 pages, no figure, final version for journal publication

Type-II Majoron Dark Matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12527


We discuss in detail the possibility that the “type-II majoron” — that is, the pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson that arises in the context of the type-II seesaw mechanism if the lepton number is spontaneously broken by an additional singlet scalar — account for the dark matter (DM) observed in the universe. We study the requirements the model’s parameters have to fulfill in order to reproduce the measured DM relic abundance through two possible production mechanisms in the early universe, freeze-in and misalignment, both during a standard radiation-dominated era and early matter domination. We then study possible signals of type-II majoron DM and the present and expected constraints on the parameter space that can be obtained from cosmological observations, direct detection experiments, and present and future searches for decaying DM at neutrino telescopes and cosmic-ray experiments. We find that — depending on the majoron mass, the production mechanism, and the value of the vacuum expectation value of the type-II triplet — all of the three decay modes (photons, electrons, neutrinos) of majoron DM particles can yield observable signals at future indirect searches for DM. Furthermore, in a corner of the parameter space, detection of majoron DM is possible through electron recoil at running and future direct detection experiments.

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C. Biggio, L. Calibbi, T. Ota, et. al.
Wed, 26 Apr 23
52/62

Comments: 22 pages + appendices and bibliography, 6 figures

Constraining the onset density for the QCD phase transition with the neutrino signal from core-collapse supernovae [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12316


The occurrence of a first-order hadron-quark matter phase transition at high baryon densities is investigated in astrophysical simulations of core-collapse supernovae, to decipher yet incompletely understood properties of the dense matter equation of state using neutrinos from such cosmic events. It is found that the emission of a non-standard second neutrino burst, dominated by electron-antineutrinos, is not only a measurable signal for the appearance of deconfined quark matter but also reveals information about the state of matter at extreme conditions encountered at the supernova interior. To this end, a large set of spherically symmetric supernova models is investigated, studying the dependence on the equation of state and on the stellar progenitor. General relativistic neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics is employed featuring three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport and a microscopic hadron-quark hybrid matter equation of state class, that covers a representative range of parameters. This facilitates the direct connection between intrinsic signatures of the neutrino signal and properties of the equation of state. In particular, a set of novel relations have been found empirically. These potentially provide a constraint for the onset density of a possible QCD phase transition, which is presently one of the largest uncertainties in modern investigations of the QCD phase diagram, from the future neutrino observation of the next galactic core-collapse supernova.

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N. Largani, T. Fischer and N. Bastian
Tue, 25 Apr 23
10/72

Comments: 14 pages, 5 figures

Shimmering gravitons in the gamma-ray sky [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11222


What is the highest energy at which gravitons can be observed? We address this question by studying graviton-to-photon conversion – the inverse-Gertsenshtein effect – in the magnetic field of the Milky Way. We find that above $\sim 1~\mbox{PeV}$ the effective photon mass grows large enough to quench the conversion rate. The induced photon flux is comparable to the sensitivity of LHAASO to a diffuse $\gamma$-ray background, but only for graviton abundances of order $\Omega_{\text{gw}} h^2_0 \sim 1$. In the future, owing to a better understanding of $\gamma$-ray backgrounds, larger effective areas and longer observation times, sub-PeV shimmering gravitons with a realistic abundance of $\Omega_{\text{gw}} h^2_0 \sim 0.01$ could be detected. We show that this is achieved in a cosmologically-motivated scenario of post-recombination superheavy dark matter decay. Therefore, the sub-PeV range might be the ultimate energy frontier at which gravitons can be observed.

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S. Ramazanov, R. Samanta, G. Trenkler, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
14/72

Comments: 16 pages, 2 figures

Multi-messenger signals of heavy axionlike particles in core-collapse supernovae: two-dimensional simulations [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11360


Core-collapse supernovae are a useful laboratory to probe the nature of exotic particles. If axionlike particles (ALPs) are produced in supernovae, they can affect the transfer of energy and leave traces in observational signatures. In this work, we develop two-dimensional supernova models including the effects of the production and the absorption of ALPs that couple with photons. It is found that the additional heating induced by ALPs can enhance the explosion energy E_exp; for moderate ALP-photon coupling, we find explosion energies ~0.610^51 erg compared to our reference model without ALPs of ~0.410^51 erg. Our findings also indicate that when the coupling constant is sufficiently high, the neutrino luminosities and mean energies are decreased because of the additional cooling of the proto-neutron star. The gravitational wave strain is also reduced because the mass accretion on the proto-neutron star is suppressed. Although the ALP-photon coupling can foster explodability, including enhancing the explosion energy closer to recent observations, more long-term simulations in spatially three-dimension are needed to draw robust conclusions.

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K. Mori, T. Takiwaki, K. Kotake, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
20/72

Comments: 11 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PRD

Colour-Flavour Locked Quark Stars in Light of the Compact Object in HESS J1731-347 and the GW190814 Event [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.12209


The central compact object within HESS J1731- 347 possesses unique mass and radius properties that renders it a compelling candidate for a self-bound star. In this research, we examine the capability of quark stars composed of colour superconducting quark matter to explain the latter object by using its marginalised posterior distribution and imposing it as a constraint on the relevant parameter space. Namely, we investigate quark matter for $N_f=2,3$ in the colour superconducting phase, incorporating perturbative QCD corrections, and we derive their properties accordingly. The utilised thermodynamic potential of this work possesses an MIT bag model formalism with the parameters being established as flavour-independent. In this instance, we conclude the favour of 3-flavour over 2-flavour colour superconducting quark matter, isolating our interest on the former. The parameter space is further confined due to the additional requirement for a high maximum mass ($M_{\text{TOV}} \geq 2.6 M_{\odot}$), accounting for GW$190814$’s secondary companion. We pay a significant attention on the speed of sound and the trace anomaly (proposed as a measure of conformality [\href{https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.252702}{10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.252702}]). We conclude that it is possible for colour-flavour locked quark stars to reach high masses without violating the conformal bound or the $\langle \Theta \rangle {\mu_B} \geq 0$ if the quartic coefficient value $\alpha_4$ does not exceed an upper limit which is solely dependent on the established $M{\text{TOV}}$. For $M_{\text{TOV}}=2.6 M_{\odot}$, we find that the limit reads $\alpha_4 \leq 0.594$. Lastly, a further study takes place on the agreement of colour-flavour locked quark stars with additional astrophysical objects including the GW$170817$ and GW$190425$ events, followed by a relevant discussion.

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P. Oikonomou and C. Moustakidis
Tue, 25 Apr 23
25/72

Comments: 13 pages, 10 figures, 1 table

The $π$-axion and $π$-axiverse of dark QCD [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11176


Axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are a prominent dark matter candidate, drawing motivation in part from the axiverse of string theory. Axion-like particles can also arise as composite degrees of freedom of a dark sector, for example, as dark pions in dark Quantum Chromo-Dynamics. In a dark Standard Model (SM) wherein all 6 quark flavors are light while the photon is massive, one finds a rich low-energy spectrum of stable and ultralight particles, in the form of neutral and charged dark scalars, and complex neutral scalars analogous to the SM kaon, with mass splittings determined by the mass and charge of the dark quarks. The model finds a natural portal to the visible sector via kinetic coupling of the dark and visible photons, and consequent millicharges for dark matter. The dark matter can be a mixture of all these ultralight bosonic degrees of freedom, and exhibit both parity-even and parity-odd interactions, making the theory testable at a wide variety of experiments. In context of dark QCD with $N_f$ flavors of light quarks, this scenario predicts $N_f^2-1$ ultralight axion-like particles — effectively an axiverse from dark QCD. This ‘$\pi$-axiverse’ is consistent with but makes no recourse to string theory, and is complementary to the conventional string theory axiverse.

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S. Alexander, H. Gilmer, T. Manton, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
56/72

Comments: N/A

Imprint of PBH domination on gravitational waves generated by cosmic strings [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11844


We study the effect of an ultra-light primordial black hole (PBH) dominated phase on the gravitational wave (GW) spectrum generated by a cosmic string (CS) network formed as a result of a high-scale $U(1)$ symmetry breaking. A PBH-dominated phase leads to tilts in the spectrum via entropy dilution and generates a new GW spectrum from PBH density fluctuations, detectable at ongoing and planned near-future GW detectors. The combined spectrum has a unique shape with a plateau, a sharp tilted peak over the plateau, and a characteristic fall-off, which can be distinguished from the one generated in the combination of CS and any other matter domination or new exotic physics. We discuss how ongoing and planned future experiments can probe such a unique spectrum for different values of $U(1)$ breaking scale and PBH parameters such as initial mass and energy fraction.

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D. Borah, S. Das, R. Roshan, et. al.
Tue, 25 Apr 23
70/72

Comments: 18 pages, 4 captioned figures

Potential of Constraining Propagation Parameters of Galactic Cosmic Rays with the High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection facility onboard China's Space Station [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11036


Precise measurements of the spectra of secondary and primary cosmic rays are crucial for understanding the origin and propagation of those energetic particles. The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility onboard China`s Space Station, which is expected to operate in 2027, will push the direct measurements of cosmic ray fluxes precisely up to PeV energies. In this work, we investigate the potential of HERD on studying the propagation of cosmic rays using the measurements of boron, carbon, and oxygen spectra. We find that, compared with the current results, the new HERD measurements can improve the accuracy of the propagation parameters by 8\% to 40\%. The constraints on the injection spectra at high energies will also be improved.

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Z. Xu, Q. Yuan, Z. Tang, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
4/41

Comments: 10 pages, 4 figures

Detectability of Late-time Supernova Neutrinos with Fallback Accretion onto Protoneutron star [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11150


We investigate the late-time neutrino emission powered by fallback mass accretion onto proto-neutron star (PNS), using neutrino radiation-hydrodynamic simulations with full Boltzmann neutrino transport. We follow the time evolution of accretion flow onto PNS until the system reaches a steady state. A standing shock wave is commonly formed in the accretion flow, whereas the shock radius varies depending on mass accretion rate and PNS mass. A sharp increase in temperature emerges in the vicinity of PNS ($\sim 10$ km), which characterizes neutrino emission. Both neutrino luminosity and average energy become higher with increasing mass accretion rate and PNS mass. The mean energy of emitted neutrinos is in the range of $10\lesssim\epsilon\lesssim20\,\mathrm{MeV}$, which is higher than that estimated from PNS cooling models ($\lesssim10\,\mathrm{MeV}$). Assuming a distance to core-collapse supernova of $10\,\mathrm{kpc}$, we quantify neutrino event rates for Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) and DUNE. The estimated detection rates are well above the background, and their energy-dependent features are qualitatively different from those expected from PNS cooling models. Another notable feature is that the neutrino emission is strongly flavor dependent, exhibiting that the neutrino event rate hinges on the neutrino oscillation model. We estimate them in the case with adiabatic Mikheev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein model, and show that the normal- and inverted mass hierarchy offer the large number of neutrino detection in Super-K and DUNE, respectively. Hence the simultaneous observation with Super-K and DUNE of the fallback neutrinos will provide a strong constraint on neutrino mass hierarchy.

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R. Akaho, H. Nagakura and T. Foglizzo
Mon, 24 Apr 23
6/41

Comments: submitted to ApJ

Synchronizing the Consistency Relation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10559


We study the $N$-point function of the density contrast to quadratic order in the squeezed limit during the matter-dominated (MD) and radiation-dominated (RD) eras in synchronous gauge. Since synchronous gauge follows the free-fall frame of observers, the equivalence principle dictates that in the gradient approximation for the long-wavelength mode there is only a single, manifestly time-independent consistency relation for the $N$-point function. This simple form is dictated by the initial mapping between synchronous and local coordinates, unlike Newtonian gauge and its correspondingly separate dilation and Newtonian consistency relations. Dynamical effects only appear at quadratic order in the squeezed limit and are again characterized by a change in the local background, also known as the separate universe approach. We show that for the 3-point function the compatibility between these squeezed-limit relations and second-order perturbation theory requires both the initial and dynamical contributions to match, as they do in single-field inflation. This clarifies the role of evolution or late-time projection effects in establishing the consistency relation for observable bispectra, which is especially important for radiation acoustic oscillations and for establishing consistency below the matter-radiation equality scale in the MD era. Defining an appropriate angle and time average of these oscillations is also important for making separate universe predictions of spatially varying local observables during the RD era, which can be useful for a wider range of cosmological predictions beyond $N$-point functions.

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K. Inomata, H. Lee and W. Hu
Mon, 24 Apr 23
15/41

Comments: 65 pages, 1 figure

Running vacuum in the Universe: phenomenological status in light of the latest observations, and its impact on the $σ_8$ and $H_0$ tensions [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11157


A substantial body of phenomenological and theoretical work over the last few years strengthens the possibility that the vacuum energy density (VED) of the universe is dynamical, and in particular that it adopts the running vacuum model' (RVM) form, in which the VED evolves mildly as $\delta \rho_{\rm vac}(H)\sim \nu_{\rm eff} m_{\rm Pl}^2{\cal O}\left(H^2\right)$, where $H$ is the Hubble rate and $\nu_{\rm eff}$ is a (small) free parameter. This dynamical scenario is grounded on recent studies of quantum field theory (QFT) in curved spacetime and also on string theory. It turns out that what we call thecosmological constant’, $\Lambda$, is no longer a rigid parameter but the nearly sustained value of $8\pi G(H)\rho_{\rm vac}(H)$ around (any) given epoch $H(t)$, where $G(H)$ is the gravitational coupling, which can also be very mildly running (logarithmically). Of particular interest is the possibility suggested in past works that such a running may help to cure the cosmological tensions afflicting the $\Lambda$CDM. In the current study, we reanalyze it in full and we find it becomes further buttressed. Using the modern cosmological data, namely a compilation of the latest $SNIa+BAO+$H(z)$+LSS+CMB$ observations, we probe to which extent the RVM provides a quality fit better than the concordance $\Lambda$CDM model, paying particular emphasis on its impact on the $\sigma_8$ and $H_0$ tensions. We utilize the Einstein-Boltzmann system solver $CLASS$ and the Monte Carlo sampler $MontePython$ for the statistical analysis, as well as the statistical $DIC$ criterion to compare the running vacuum against the rigid vacuum ($\nu_{\rm eff} = 0$). We show that with a tiny amount of vacuum dynamics ($|\nu_{\rm eff}|\ll 1$) the global fit can improve significantly with respect to the $\Lambda$CDM and the mentioned tensions may subside to inconspicuous levels.

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J. Peracaula, A. Gomez-Valent, J. Perez, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
20/41

Comments: LaTeX, 44 pages, 11 Tables and 4 Figures

High-Frequency Gravitational Wave Detection via Optical Frequency Modulation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10579


High-frequency gravitational waves can be detected by observing the frequency modulation they impart on photons. We discuss fundamental limitations to this method related to the fact that it is impossible to construct a perfectly rigid detector. We then propose several novel methods to search for O(MHz-GHz) gravitational waves based on the frequency modulation induced in the spectrum of an intense laser beam, by applying optical frequency demodulation techniques, or by using optical atomic clock technology. We find promising sensitivities across a broad frequency range.

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T. Bringmann, V. Domcke, E. Fuchs, et. al.
Mon, 24 Apr 23
21/41

Comments: 11 pages, 3 figures

Simulating Atomic Dark Matter in Milky Way Analogues [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09878


Dark sector theories naturally lead to multi-component scenarios for dark matter where a sub-component can dissipate energy through self-interactions, allowing it to efficiently cool inside galaxies. We present the first cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way analogues where the majority of dark matter is collisionless Cold Dark Matter (CDM), but a sub-component (6%) is strongly dissipative minimal Atomic Dark Matter (ADM). The simulations, implemented in GIZMO and utilizing FIRE-2 galaxy formation physics to model the standard baryonic sector, demonstrate that the addition of even a small fraction of dissipative dark matter can significantly impact galactic evolution despite being consistent with current cosmological constraints. We show that ADM gas with roughly Standard-Model-like masses and couplings can cool to form a rotating “dark disk” with angular momentum closely aligned with the visible stellar disk. The morphology of the disk depends sensitively on the parameters of the ADM model, which affect the cooling rates in the dark sector. The majority of the ADM gas gravitationally collapses into dark “clumps” (regions of black hole or mirror star formation), which form a prominent bulge and a rotating thick disk in the central galaxy. These clumps form early and quickly sink to the inner ~kpc of the galaxy, affecting the galaxy’s star-formation history and present-day baryonic and CDM distributions.

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S. Roy, X. Shen, M. Lisanti, et. al.
Fri, 21 Apr 23
2/60

Comments: 9 pages, 4 figures, 12 pages of appendices and supplementary figures

No evidence for p- or d-wave dark matter annihilation from local large-scale structure [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10301


If dark matter annihilates into standard model particles with a cross-section which is velocity dependent, then Local Group dwarf galaxies will not be the best place to search for the resulting gamma ray emission. A greater flux would be produced by more distant and massive halos, with larger velocity dispersions. We construct full-sky predictions for the gamma-ray emission from galaxy- and cluster-mass halos within $\sim 200 \, {\mathrm{Mpc}}$ using a suite of constrained $N$-body simulations (CSiBORG) based on the Bayesian Origin Reconstruction from Galaxies algorithm. Comparing to observations from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and marginalising over reconstruction uncertainties and other astrophysical contributions to the flux, we obtain constraints on the cross-section which are two (seven) orders of magnitude tighter than those obtained from dwarf spheroidals for $p$-wave ($d$-wave) annihilation. We find no evidence for either type of annihilation from dark matter particles with masses in the range $m_\chi = 2-500 \, {\mathrm{GeV}}/c^2$, for any channel. As an example, for annihilations producing bottom quarks with $m_\chi = 10 \, {\mathrm{GeV}}/c^2$, we find $a_{1} < 2.4 \times 10^{-21} \, {\mathrm{cm^3 s^{-1}}}$ and $a_{2} < 3.0 \times 10^{-18} \, {\mathrm{cm^3 s^{-1}}}$ at 95% confidence, where the product of the cross-section, $\sigma$, and relative particle velocity, $v$, is given by $\sigma v = a_\ell (v/c)^{2\ell}$ and $\ell=1, 2$ for $p$-, $d$-wave annihilation, respectively. Our bounds, although failing to exclude the thermal relic cross-section for velocity-dependent annihilation channels, are among the tightest to date.

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A. Kostić, D. Bartlett and H. Desmond
Fri, 21 Apr 23
26/60

Comments: 15 pages, 5 figures; submitted to Physical Review D

Dai-Freed anomaly in the standard model and topological inflation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10100


When we impose the discrete symmetry in the standard model we have Dai-Freed global anomalies. However, interestingly if we introduce three right-handed neutrinos we can have an anomaly-free discrete $Z_4$ gauge symmetry. This $Z_4$ symmetry should be spontaneously broken down to the $Z_2$ symmetry to generate the heavy Majorana masses for the right-handed neutrinos. We show that this symmetry breaking naturally generates topological inflation, which is consistent with the CMB observations at present and predicts a significant tensor mode with scalar-tensor ratio $r > 0.03$. The right-handed neutrinos play an important role in reheating processes. The reheating temperature is as high as $\sim 10^8$GeV, and non-thermal leptogenesis successfully takes place.

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M. Kawasaki and T. Yanagida
Fri, 21 Apr 23
32/60

Comments: 9 pages and 2 figures

Probing primordial black holes from a first order phase transition through pulsar timing and gravitational wave signals [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.10084


In this work, we assess the sensitivity reach of pulsar timing array (PTA) measurements to probe pointlike primordial black holes (PBHs), with an extended mass distribution, which originate from collapsed Fermi balls that are formed through the aggregation of asymmetric U(1) dark fermions trapped within false vacuum bubbles during a dark first order phase transition (FOPT). The PBH formation scenario is mainly characterized by the dark asymmetry, strength of the FOPT, rate of FOPT, and the percolation temperature. Meanwhile, for PBH masses of interest lying within $10^{-10} M_\odot – 10^{-3}M_\odot$, the relevant signal for PTA measurements is the Doppler phase shift in the timing signal, due to the velocity change induced by transiting PBHs on pulsars. Taking the dark asymmetry parameter to be $10^{-4}$ and $10^{-5}$, we find that percolation temperatures within the 0.1-10 keV range, FOPT rates above $10^3$ times the Hubble parameter at percolation, and FOPT strengths within $10^{-6}-0.1$ can give rise to PBHs that can be probed by an SKA-like PTA observation. On the other hand, the accompanying gravitational wave (GW) signal from the FOPT can be used as a complementary probe, assuming that the peak frequency lies within the $\mathcal{O}(10^{-9})-\mathcal{O}(10^{-6})$ Hz range, and the peak GW abundance is above the peak-integrated sensitivity curves associated with pulsar timing observations that search for stochastic GWs. At the fundamental level, a quartic effective potential for a dark scalar field can trigger the FOPT. By performing a parameter scan, we obtained the class of effective potentials that lead to FOPT scenarios that can be probed by SKA through pulsar timing and GW observations.

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J. Acuña and P. Tseng
Fri, 21 Apr 23
43/60

Comments: 40 pages, 8 figures

The Primordial Black Holes that Disappeared: Connections to Dark Matter and MHz-GHz Gravitational Waves [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09194


In the post-LIGO era, there has been a lot of focus on primordial black holes (PBHs) heavier than $\sim 10^{15}$g as potential dark matter (DM) candidates. We point out that the branch of the PBH family that disappeared – PBHs lighter than $\sim 10^9$g that ostensibly Hawking evaporated away in the early Universe – also constitute an interesting frontier for DM physics. Hawking evaporation itself serves as a portal through which such PBHs can illuminate new physics, for example by emitting dark sector particles. Taking a simple DM scalar singlet model as a template, we compute the abundance and mass of PBHs that could have provided, by Hawking evaporation, the correct DM relic density. We consider two classes of such PBHs: those originating from curvature perturbations generated by inflation, and those originating from false vacuum collapse during a first-order phase transition. For PBHs of both origins we compute the gravitational wave (GW) signals emanating from their formation stage: from second-order effects in the case of curvature perturbations, and from sound waves in the case of phase transitions. The GW signals have peak frequencies in the MHz-GHz range typical of such light PBHs. We compute the strength of such GWs compatible with the observed DM relic density, and find that the GW signal morphology can in principle allow one to distinguish between the two PBH formation histories.

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T. Gehrman, B. Haghi, K. Sinha, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
19/57

Comments: 23 pages + references, 8 figures

BCS in the Sky: Signatures of Inflationary Fermion Condensation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.09428


We consider a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-like model in the inflationary background. We show that with an axial chemical potential, the attractive quartic fermion self-interaction can lead to a BCS-like condensation. In the de Sitter (dS) limit of inflation, we perform the first computation of the non-perturbative effective potential that includes the full spacetime curvature effects in the presence of the chemical potential. The corresponding BCS phase transition is always first-order, when the varying Hubble is interpreted as an effective Gibbons-Hawking temperature of dS spacetime. In the condensate phase, the theory can be understood from UV and IR sides as fermionic and bosonic, respectively. This leads to distinctive signatures in the primordial non-Gaussianity of curvature perturbations. Namely, the oscillatory cosmological collider signal is smoothly turned off at a finite momentum ratio, since different momentum ratios effectively probe different energy scales. In addition, such BCS phase transitions can also source stochastic gravitational waves, feasible for future experiments.

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X. Tong, Y. Wang, C. Zhang, et. al.
Thu, 20 Apr 23
48/57

Comments: 30 pages, 8 figures

Two-injection scenario for the hard X-ray excess observed in Mrk 421 [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08726


An interesting result recently reported for Mrk 421 is the detection of a significant excess at hard X-ray energies, which could provide useful information for investigating particle acceleration and emission mechanisms in the relativistic jet. Considering a two-injection scenario, we develop a self-consistent one-zone leptonic model to understand the origin of the hard X-ray excess in Mrk 421 during the period of extremely low X-ray and very high energy (VHE) flux in 2013 January. In the model, two populations of mono-energetic ultrarelativistic electrons are injected into the emission region that is a magnetized plasmoid propagating along the blazar jet. We numerically calculate the emitting electron energy distribution by solving a kinetic equation that incorporates both shock acceleration and stochastic acceleration processes. Moreover, we infer analytic expressions relating electrons acceleration, cooling, escape and injection to the observed spectra and variability. For the injection luminosity in particular, we derive a new approximate analytical expression for the case of continual injection with a mono-energetic distribution. Based on a comparison between the theoretical predictions and the observed SED, we conclude that the hard X-ray excess observed in Mrk 421 may be due to the synchrotron radiation emitted by an additional electrons population, which is co-spatial with an electron population producing simultaneous Optical/UV, soft X-ray, and $\gamma$-ray emissions. The stochastic acceleration may play a major role in producing the observed X-ray spectrum.

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W. Hu, D. Yan and Q. Hu
Wed, 19 Apr 23
6/58

Comments: 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in ApJ

Current and Future constraints on Very-Light Axion-Like Particles from X-ray observations of cluster-hosted Active Galaxies [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08513


We discuss our recent constraints on the coupling of Very-Light Axion-Like Particles (of masses $<$$ 10^{-12} \ \mathrm{eV}$) to electromagnetism from $Chandra$ observations of the cluster-hosted Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) H1821+643 and NGC1275. In both cases, the inferred high-quality AGN spectra excluded all photon-ALP couplings $g_\mathrm{a\gamma} > (6.3 – 8.0) \times 10^{-13} \ {\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$ at the $99.7\%$ level, respectively, based on the non-detection of spectral distortions attributed to photon-ALP inter-conversion along the cluster line-of-sight. Finally, we present the prospects of tightening current bounds on such ALPs by up to a factor of 10 with next-generation X-ray observatories such as $Athena$, $AXIS$ and $LEM$ given their improved spectral and spatial resolution and collecting area compared to current missions.

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J. Sisk-Reynes, C. Reynolds and J. Matthews
Wed, 19 Apr 23
22/58

Comments: 4 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication to Memorie della SAIt for the Proceedings of the European Astronomical Society 2022 (EAS 2022) Annual Meeting Symposium S3 “The Dark matter multi-messenger challenge”

Exorcising the Ghost Condensate Dark Energy with a Sextic Dispersion Relation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07344


The universe’s current acceleration is a pretty recent phenomenon in cosmological time scales. This means that the modes that have left our horizon since the beginning of the contemporary acceleration phase, have not really reached the exact IR limit. Noting this observation, we reconsider the possibility of having a ghost condensate as dark energy with a sixth-order dispersion relation. Looking at the three-point function of such a theory, we obtain the constraints on the coefficient of the sixth-order dispersion relation to avoid strong coupling. Such a ghost condensate if coupled to the standard model fields, induces a constant Lorentz-violating spin-dependent force, which can gravitate or anti-gravitate.

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A. Ashoorioon and A. Yousefi-Sostani
Wed, 19 Apr 23
25/58

Comments: 15+1 pages

Astrophysical neutrino point sources as a probe of new physics [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08533


Recently, the IceCube collaboration observed a neutrino excess in the direction of NGC 1068 with high statistical significance. This constitutes the second detection of an astrophysical neutrino point source after the discovery of a variable emission originating from the blazar TXS~0506+056. Neutrinos emitted by these sources traverse huge, well-determined distances on their way to Earth. This makes them a promising tool to test new physics in the neutrino sector. We consider secret interactions with the cosmic neutrino background and discuss their impact on the flux of neutrino point sources. The observation of emission from NGC 1068 and TXS 0506+056 can then be used to put limits on the strength of the interaction. We find that our ignorance of the absolute neutrino masses has a strong impact and, therefore, we present limits in two benchmark scenarios with the sum of the neutrino masses around their lower and upper limits.

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C. Döring and S. Vogl
Wed, 19 Apr 23
40/58

Comments: 7 pages + appendix, 5 figures

LIGO-VIRGO constraints on dark matter and leptogenesis triggered by a first order phase transition at high scale [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08888


We study the possibility of constraining a scenario with high scale first order phase transition (FOPT) responsible for the cogenesis of baryon and dark matter using gravitational wave (GW) (non)-observations. While the FOPT at high scale is responsible for generating baryon asymmetry through leptogenesis and dark matter via the \textit{mass-gain} mechanism, the resulting GW spectrum falls within the ongoing LIGO-VIRGO experimental sensitivity. The dark matter is preferred to be in the non-thermal ballpark with sub-GeV masses and the criteria of successful dark matter relic rules out a large portion of the parameter space consistent with high scale FOPT and successful leptogenesis. Some part of the parameter space allowed from dark matter and leptogenesis criteria also gives rise to a large signal-to-noise ratio at ongoing experiments and hence can be disfavoured in a conservative way from the non-observation of such stochastic GW background. Future data from ongoing and planned experiments will offer a complementary and indirect probe of the remaining parameter space which is typically outside the reach of any direct experimental probe.

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D. Borah, A. Dasgupta and I. Saha
Wed, 19 Apr 23
42/58

Comments: 15 pages, 5 captioned figures

A Dark Matter Probe in Accreting Pulsar-Black Hole Binaries [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08824


The accretion of dark matter (DM) into astrophysical black holes slowly increases their mass. The rate of this mass accretion depends on the DM model and the model parameters. If this mass accretion effect can be measured accurately enough, it is possible to rule out some DM models, and, with the sufficient technology and the help of other DM constraints, possibly confirm one model. We propose a DM probe based on accreting pulsar-black hole binaries, which provide a high-precision measurement on binary orbital phase shifts induced by DM accretion into black holes, and can help rule out DM models and study the nature of DM.

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A. Akil and Q. Ding
Wed, 19 Apr 23
50/58

Comments: 11 pages, 4 figures

Trajectories of astroparticles in pseudo-Finsler spacetime with the most general modified dispersion [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08676


Finsler geometry is a natural and fundamental generalization of Riemann geometry, and is a tool to research Lorentz invariance violation. We find the connection between the most general modified dispersion relation and a pseudo-Finsler structure, and then we calculate the arrival time delay of astroparticles with different modified dispersion relations in the framework of Finsler geometry. The result suggests that the time delay is irrelevant with the exact form of the modified dispersion relation. If the modified term becomes 0 when $E=p$, there is no arrival time difference, otherwise the time delays only depend on the Lorentz violation scale and the order at which the Lorentz invariance breaks.

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J. Zhu and B. Ma
Wed, 19 Apr 23
53/58

Comments: 9 pages, no figure, version for journal publication

Supermassive primordial black holes: a view from clustering of quasars at $z \sim 6$ [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08153


We investigate a scenario where primordial black holes (PBHs) can be the progenitors of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) observed at $z\sim6$. To this end, we carried out clustering analysis using a sample of 81 quasars at $5.88 <z<6.49$, which is constructed in Subaru High-$z$ Exploration of Low-Luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs) project, and 11 quasars in the same redshift range selected from the literature. The resulting angular auto-correlation function (ACF) can be fitted to a power-law form of $\omega_\theta = 0.045^{+0.114}_{-0.106}~\theta^{-0.8}$ over a scale of $0.2!-!10$ degrees. We compare the ACF of the quasars to that predicted for the PBH model at $z\sim 6$ and found that such a scenario is excluded for a broad range of parameter space, from which we can conclude that a scenario with PBHs as SMBHs is not viable. We also discuss a model in which SMBHs at $z \sim 6$ originate from the direct collapse of PBH clumps and argue that the observed ACF excludes such a scenario in the context of our PBH model.

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T. Shinohara, W. He, Y. Matsuoka, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
1/80

Comments: 23 pages, 7 figures

Freeze-in baryogenesis and early matter domination [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07345


The freeze-in mechanism has been shown to allow the simultaneous generation of cosmic dark matter and a viable matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. When the underlying interactions are described by higher-dimensional, non-renormalizable operators, the relevant freeze-in processes take place close to the highest considered cosmic temperatures. In this paper we study how the presence of a fluid that temporarily dominates the energy content of the early universe affects the predictions of this “Ultraviolet Freeze-In Baryogenesis” scenario. We find that this additional cosmic component has a significant impact on the predictions of concrete microscopic models, allowing for reheating temperatures which are much lower than those required in the simplest cosmological scenario. Moreover, we show that inflationary observables can constrain the parameter space of such models, once the latter are examined in conjunction with concrete models of inflation.

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I. Dalianis, A. Goudelis, D. Karamitros, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
25/80

Comments: 25 pages, 6 figures

Effective field theories for dark matter pairs in the early universe: cross sections and widths [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.00113


In order to predict the cosmological abundance of dark matter, an estimation of particle rates in an expanding thermal environment is needed. For thermal dark matter, the non-relativistic regime sets the stage for the freeze-out of the dark matter energy density. We compute transition widths and annihilation, bound-state formation, and dissociation cross sections of dark matter fermion pairs in the unifying framework of non-relativistic effective field theories at finite temperature, with the thermal bath modeling the thermodynamical behaviour of the early universe. We reproduce and extend some known results for the paradigmatic case of a dark fermion species coupled to dark gauge bosons. The effective field theory framework allows to highlight their range of validity and consistency, and to identify some possible improvements.

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S. Biondini, N. Brambilla, G. Qerimi, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
44/80

Comments: 62 pages, 20 figures

Tabulated Equations of State From Models Informed by Chiral Effective Field Theory [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07836


We construct four equation of state (EoS) tables, tabulated over a range of temperatures, densities, and charge fractions, relevant for neutron star applications such as simulations of neutron star mergers. The EoS are computed from a relativistic mean-field theory constrained by the pure neutron matter EoS from chiral effective field theory, inferred properties of isospin-symmetric nuclear matter, and astrophysical observations of neutron star structure. To model nuclear matter at low densities, we attach an EoS that models inhomogeneous nuclear matter at arbitrary temperatures and charge fractions. The four EoS tables we develop are available from the CompOSE EoS repository https://compose.obspm.fr/eos/297 and https://gitlab.com/ahaber/qmc-rmf-tables.

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M. Alford, L. Brodie, A. Haber, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
47/80

Comments: 8 pages, 2 figures

Probing Dark Energy and Modifications of Gravity with Ground-Based Millimeter-Wavelength Line Intensity Mapping [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08471


Line intensity mapping (LIM) can provide a powerful means to constrain the theory of gravity and the nature of dark energy at low and high redshifts by mapping the large-scale structure (LSS) over many redshift epochs. In this paper, we investigate the potential of the next generation ground-based millimeter-wavelength LIM surveys in constraining several models beyond $\Lambda$CDM, involving either a dynamic dark energy component or modifications of the theory of gravity. Limiting ourselves to two-point clustering statistics, we consider the measurements of auto-spectra of several CO rotational lines (from J=2-1 to J=6-5) and the [CII] fine structure line in the redshift range of $0.25<z<12$. We consider different models beyond $\Lambda$CDM, each one with different signatures and peculiarities. Among them, we focus on Jordan-Brans-Dicke and axion-driven early dark energy models as examples of well-studied scalar-tensor theories acting at late and early times respectively. Additionally, we consider three phenomenological models based on an effective description of gravity at cosmological scales. We show that LIM surveys deployable within a decade (with $\sim 10^8$ spectrometer hours) have the potential to improve upon the current bounds on all considered models significantly. The level of improvements range from a factor of a few to an order of magnitude.

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A. Dizgah, E. Bellini and G. Keating
Tue, 18 Apr 23
48/80

Comments: 20+3 pages. 15 figures. 3 tables

Big Bang initial conditions and self-interacting hidden dark matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08454


A variety of supergravity and string models involve hidden sectors where the hidden sectors may couple feebly with the visible sectors via a variety of portals. While the coupling of the hidden sector to the visible sector is feeble its coupling to the inflaton is largely unknown. It could couple feebly or with the same strength as the visible sector which would result in either a cold or a hot hidden sector at the end of reheating. These two possibilities could lead to significantly different outcomes for observables. We investigate the thermal evolution of the two sectors in a cosmologically consistent hidden sector dark matter model where the hidden sector and the visible sector are thermally coupled and their thermal evolution occurs without the assumption of separate entropy conservation for each sector. Within this framework we analyze several phenomena to illustrate their dependence on the initial conditions. These include the allowed parameter space of models, dark matter relic density, proton-dark matter cross section, effective massless neutrino species at BBN time, self-interacting dark matter cross-section, where self-interaction occurs via exchange of dark photon, and Sommerfeld enhancement. Finally fits to the velocity dependence of dark matter cross sections from galaxy scales to the scale of galaxy clusters is given. The analysis indicates significant effects of the initial conditions on the observables listed above. The analysis is carried out within the framework where dark matter is constituted of dark fermions and the mediation between the visible and the hidden sector occurs via the exchange of dark photons. The techniques discussed here may have applications for a wider class of hidden sector models using different mediations between the visible and the hidden sectors to explore the impact of Big Bang initial conditions on observable physics.

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J. Li and P. Nath
Tue, 18 Apr 23
52/80

Comments: 29 pages,10 figures

Accurate Inverse-Compton Models Strongly Enhance Leptophilic Dark Matter Signals [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07317


The annihilation of TeV-scale leptophilic dark matter into electron-positron pairs (hereafter $e^+e^-$) will produce a sharp cutoff in the local cosmic-ray $e^+e^-$ spectrum at an energy matching the dark matter mass. At these high energies, $e^+e^-$ cool quickly due to synchrotron interactions with magnetic fields and inverse-Compton scattering with the interstellar radiation field. These energy losses are typically modelled as a continuous process. However, inverse-Compton scattering is a stochastic energy-loss process where interactions are rare but catastrophic. We show that when inverse-Compton scattering is modelled as a stochastic process, the expected $e^+e^-$ flux from dark matter annihilation is about a factor of $\sim$2 larger near the dark matter mass than in the continuous model. This greatly enhances the detectability of heavy dark matter.

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I. John and T. Linden
Tue, 18 Apr 23
61/80

Comments: 7 pages, 9 figures. Appendix adds 4 pages, 3 figures. To be submitted

Light cold dark matter from non-thermal decay [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07462


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.

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K. Choi, J. Gong, J. Joh, et. al.
Tue, 18 Apr 23
68/80

Comments: 8 pages, 4 figures

THESAN-HR: Galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization in warm dark matter, fuzzy dark matter and interacting dark matter [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06742


Using high-resolution cosmological radiation-hydrodynamic (RHD) simulations (THESAN-HR), we explore the impact of alternative dark matter (altDM) models on galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization. The simulations adopt the IllustrisTNG galaxy formation model. We focus on altDM models that exhibit small-scale suppression of the matter power spectrum, namely warm dark matter (WDM), fuzzy dark matter (FDM), and interacting dark matter (IDM) with strong dark acoustic oscillations (sDAO). In altDM scenarios, both the halo mass functions and the UV luminosity functions at $z\gtrsim 6$ are suppressed at the low-mass/faint end, leading to delayed global star formation and reionization histories. However, strong non-linear effects enable altDM models to “catch up” with cold dark matter (CDM) in terms of star formation and reionization. The specific star formation rates are enhanced in halos below the half-power mass in altDM models. This enhancement coincides with increased gas abundance, reduced gas depletion times, more compact galaxy sizes, and steeper metallicity gradients at the outskirts of the galaxies. These changes in galaxy properties can help disentangle altDM signatures from a range of astrophysical uncertainties. Meanwhile, it is the first time that altDM models have been studied in RHD simulations of galaxy formation. We uncover significant systematic uncertainties in reionization assumptions on the faint-end luminosity function. This underscores the necessity of accurately modeling the small-scale morphology of reionization in making predictions for the low-mass galaxy population. Upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) imaging surveys of deep, lensed fields hold potential for uncovering the faint, low-mass galaxy population, which could provide constraints on altDM models.

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X. Shen, J. Borrow, M. Vogelsberger, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
14/51

Comments: To be submitted to MNRAS 22 pages, 12 Figures

Effective Field Theories for Dark Matter Pairs in the Early Universe [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.07180


In this conference paper, we consider effective field theories of non-relativistic dark matter particles interacting with a light force mediator in the early expanding universe. We present a general framework, where to account in a systematic way for the relevant processes that may affect the dynamics during thermal freeze-out. In the temperature regime where near-threshold effects, most notably the formation of bound states and Sommerfeld enhancement, have a large impact on the dark matter relic density, we scrutinize possible contributions from higher excited states and radiative corrections in the annihilations and decays of dark-matter pairs.

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S. Biondini, N. Brambilla, G. Qerimi, et. al.
Mon, 17 Apr 23
21/51

Comments: Discussion about hierarchies of scales improved with respect to the published version in the conference proceedings. 4 pages, 2 figures, conference proceeding of “NuDM-2022”

Inelastic Freeze-in [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06072


Dark matter (DM) could be a nonthermal relic that freezes in from extremely weak, sub-Hubble annihilation and decay of Standard Model (SM) particles. The case of Dirac DM freezing in via a dark photon mediator is a well-studied benchmark for DM direct detection experiments. Here, we extend prior work to take into account the possibility that DM is pseudo-Dirac with a small mass splitting. If the mass splitting is greater than twice the electron mass but less than the dark photon mass, there will be distinct cosmological signatures. The excited state $\chi_2$ is initially produced in equal abundance to the ground state $\chi_1$. Subsequently, the excited state population decays at relatively late cosmological times, primarily via the three-body process $\chi_2 \rightarrow \chi_1 e^+ e^-$. This process injects energetic electrons into the ambient environment, providing observable signatures involving Big Bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave background spectral distortions and anisotropies, and the Lyman-$\alpha$ forest. Furthermore, the ground state particles that are populated from the three-body decay receive a velocity kick, with implications for DM clustering on small scales. We find that cosmological probes and accelerator experiments are highly complementary, with future coverage of much of the parameter space of the model.

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S. Heeba, T. Lin and K. Schutz
Fri, 14 Apr 23
5/64

Comments: 15 pages, 6 figures + 1 secret doodle, comments welcome

Early Structure Formation from Cosmic String Loops in Light of Early JWST Observations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06429


Cosmic strings, if they exist, source nonlinear and non-Gaussian perturbations all the way back to the time of equal matter and radiation (and earlier). Here, we compute the mass function of halos seeded by a scaling distribution of cosmic string loops, and we compare the results with the predictions of the standard Gaussian $\Lambda$CDM model. Assuming a simple linear relation between stellar mass and halo mass, we also compute the stellar mass function. The contribution of cosmic strings dominates at sufficiently high redshifts $z > z_c$ where $z_c$ depends on the mass of the halo and on the mass per unit length $\mu$ of the strings and is of the order $z_c \sim 12$ for $G\mu = 10^{-8}$. We find that strings with this value of $G\mu$ can explain the preliminary JWST data on the high redshift stellar mass density. Based on an extreme value statistic, we find that the mass of the heaviest expected string-seeded galaxy for the current JWST sky coverage is compatible with the heaviest detected galaxy. Given the uncertainties in the interpretation of the JWST data, we discuss predictions for higher redshift observations.

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H. Jiao, R. Brandenberger and A. Refregier
Fri, 14 Apr 23
7/64

Comments: 13 pages, 8 figures

Universal Gravitational Wave Signatures of Cosmological Solitons [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06709


Cosmological solitonic objects such as monopoles, cosmic strings, domain walls, oscillons and Q-balls often appear in theories of the early Universe. We demonstrate that such scenarios are generically accompanied by a novel production source of gravitational waves stemming from soliton isocurvature perturbations. The resulting induced universal gravitational waves (UGWs) reside at lower frequencies compared to gravitational waves typically associated with soliton formation. We show that UGWs from axion-like particle (ALP) oscillons, originating from ALP misalignment, extend the frequency range of produced gravitational waves by more than two orders of magnitude regardless of the ALP mass and decay constant and can be observable in upcoming gravitational wave experiments. UGWs open a new route for gravitational wave signatures in broad classes of cosmological theories.

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K. Lozanov, M. Sasaki and V. Takhistov
Fri, 14 Apr 23
29/64

Comments: 8 pages, 2 figures

Probing neutrino production in high-energy astrophysical neutrino sources with the Glashow Resonance [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06068


The flavor composition of high-energy neutrinos carries important information about their birth. However, the two most common production scenarios, $pp$ (hadronuclear) and $p\gamma$ (photohadronic) processes, lead to the same flavor ratios when neutrinos and antineutrinos cannot be distinguished. The Glashow resonant interaction $\bar{\nu}_e+e^- \rightarrow W^-$ becomes a window to differentiate the antineutrino contribution from the total diffuse neutrino flux, thus lifting this degeneracy. We examine the power of Glashow resonant events in measuring the fraction of the $\bar{\nu}_e$ flux with current IceCube data, and produce projected sensitivities based on the combined exposure of planned Cherenkov neutrino telescopes around the globe. We find that $pp$ and $p\gamma$ can be distinguished at a 2$\sigma$ significance level in the next decades, in both an event-wise analysis and a more conservative statistical analysis, even with pessimistic assumptions on the spectral index of the astrophysical flux. Finally, we consider the sensitivity of future experiments to mixed production mechanisms.

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Q. Liu, N. Song and A. Vincent
Fri, 14 Apr 23
41/64

Comments: 15 pages, 9 figures

Chiral magnetohydrodynamics with zero total chirality [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06612


We study the evolution of magnetic fields coupled with chiral fermion asymmetry in the framework of chiral magnetohydrodynamics with zero initial total chirality. The initial magnetic field has a turbulent spectrum peaking at a certain characteristic scale and is fully helical with positive helicity. The initial chiral chemical potential is spatially uniform and negative. We consider two opposite cases where the ratio of the length scale of the chiral plasma instability (CPI) to the characteristic scale of the turbulence is smaller and larger than unity. These initial conditions might be realized in cosmological models such as certain types of axion inflation. The magnetic field and chiral chemical potential evolve with inverse cascading in such a way that the magnetic helicity and chirality cancel each other at all times. The CPI time scale is found to determine mainly the time when the magnetic helicity spectrum attains negative values at high wave numbers. The turnover time of the energy-carrying eddies, on the other hand, determines the time when the peak of the spectrum starts to shift to smaller wave numbers via an inverse cascade. The onset of helicity decay is determined by the time when the chiral magnetic effect becomes efficient at the peak of the initial magnetic energy spectrum. When spin flipping is important, the chiral chemical potential vanishes and the magnetic helicity becomes constant, which leads to a faster increase of the correlation length, as expected from magnetic helicity conservation. This also happens when the initial total chirality is imbalanced. Our findings have important implications for baryogenesis after axion inflation.

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A. Brandenburg, K. Kamada, K. Mukaida, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
42/64

Comments: 21 pages, 20 figures, 4 tables

Fine tuning of rainbow gravity functions and Klein-Gordon particles in cosmic string rainbow gravity spacetime [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06546


We argue that, as long as relativistic quantum particles are in point, the variable $y=E/E_p$ of the rainbow functions pair $g_{{0}} (y)$ and $g{{1}} (y)$ should be fine tuned into $y=|E|/E_p$, where $E_p$ is the Planck’s energy scale. Otherwise, the rainbow functions will be only successful to describe the rainbow gravity effect on relativistic quantum particles and the anti-particles will be left unfortunate. Under such fine tuning, we consider Klein-Gordon (KG) particles in cosmic string rainbow gravity spacetime in a non-uniform magnetic field (i.e., $\mathbf{B}=\mathbf{\nabla }\times \mathbf{A}=\frac{3}{2}B{\circ }r\,\hat{z}$ ). Then we consider KG-particles in cosmic string rainbow gravity spacetime in a uniform magnetic field (i.e., $\mathbf{B}=\mathbf{\nabla }\times \mathbf{A}=\frac{1}{2}B_{\circ }\,\hat{z}$ ). Whilst the former effectively yields KG-oscillators, the later effectively yields KG-Coulombic particles. We report on the effects of rainbow gravity on both KG-oscillators and Coulombic particles using four pairs of rainbow functions: (i) $% g_{{0}}\left( y\right) =1$, $g{{1}}\left( y\right) =\sqrt{1-\epsilon y^{2}% }$, (ii) $g{{0}}\left( y\right) =1$, $g{{1}}\left( y\right) =\sqrt{% 1-\epsilon y}$, (iii) $g{{0}}\left( y\right) =g{{1}}\left( y\right) =\left( 1-\epsilon y\right) ^{-1}$, and (iv) $g{{0}}\left( y\right) =\left( e^{\epsilon y}-1\right) /\epsilon y$, $g{_{1}}\left( y\right) =1$, where $y=|E|/E_p$ and $\epsilon$ is the rainbow parameter. It is interesting to report that, all KG particles’ and anti-particles’ energies are symmetric about $E=0$ value (a natural relativistic quantum mechanical tendency), and a phenomenon of energy states to fly away and disappear from the spectrum is observed for the rainbow functions pair (iii) at $\gamma=\epsilon m/E_p=1$.

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O. Mustafa
Fri, 14 Apr 23
46/64

Comments: 15 pages, 7 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2301.05464, arXiv:2301.12370

Exploring Mirror Twin Higgs Cosmology with Present and Future Weak Lensing Surveys [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06308


We explore the potential of precision cosmological data to study non-minimal dark sectors by updating the cosmological constraint on the mirror twin Higgs model (MTH). The MTH model addresses the Higgs little hierarchy problem by introducing dark sector particles. In this work, we perform a Bayesian global analysis that includes the latest cosmic shear measurement from the DES three-year survey and the Planck CMB and BAO data. In the early Universe, the mirror baryon and mirror radiation behave as dark matter and dark radiation, and their presence modifies the Universe’s expansion history. Additionally, the scattering between mirror baryon and photon generates the dark acoustic oscillation process, suppressing the matter power spectrum from the cosmic shear measurement. We demonstrate how current data constrain these corrections to the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology and find that for a viable solution to the little hierarchy problem, the proportion of MTH dark matter cannot exceed about $30\%$ of the total dark matter density, unless the temperature of twin photon is less than $30\%$ of that of the standard model photon. While the MTH model is presently not a superior solution to the observed $H_0$ tension compared to the $\Lambda$CDM+$\Delta N_{\rm eff}$ model, we demonstrate that it has the potential to alleviate both the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions, especially if the $S_8$ tension persists in the future and approaches the result reported by the Planck SZ (2013) analysis. In this case, the MTH model can relax the tensions while satisfying the DES power spectrum constraint up to $k \lesssim 10~h\rm {Mpc}^{-1}$. If the MTH model is indeed accountable for the $S_8$ and $H_0$ tensions, we show that the future China Space Station Telescope (CSST) can determine the twin baryon abundance with a $10\%$ level precision.

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L. Zu, C. Zhang, H. Chen, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
48/64

Comments: 32 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables

Addressing the self-interaction for ELDER dark matter from the 21-cm signal [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06680


The self-interacting dark matter can affect various cosmological processes. Such interactions can be number conserving (\emph{e.g.} $2 \rightarrow 2$) or number violating (\emph{e.g.} $3 \rightarrow 2,\,4 \rightarrow 2$ etc.). The latter processes where three (or more) dark matter particles undergo self-annihilation/scattering to produce less number of dark matter is termed as “Cannibalism” process. In this work, the self-interaction of dark matter and the strength of such interactions are investigated in the light of experimental results of the global 21-cm spectrum of neural hydrogen from the era of cosmic dawn. From the present work, it appears that $2\rightarrow 2$ process is much more dominant over the $3\rightarrow 2$ process. It is also found that such interactions affect the dark matter-baryon elastic scattering cross-section. The study also indicates the presence of multi component dark matter of different mass range in the Universe.

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R. Basu, D. Majumdar, A. Halder, et. al.
Fri, 14 Apr 23
49/64

Comments: 19 pages, 5 figures

Stellar Signals of a Baryon-Number-Violating Long-Range Force [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06071


We entertain the novel possibility that long range forces may lead to violations of accidental symmetries, in particular baryon number. Employing an ultralight scalar, with a mass $\ll$ eV, we illustrate that this scenario can lead to vastly disparate nucleon lifetimes, in different astronomical objects. Such a long range interaction can yield a number of potentially observable effects, such as a flux of neutrinos at $\gtrsim 10$ MeV from the Sun and heating of old neutron stars. We examine the prospects for constraining this scenario, with current and future astrophysical data, and find that neutron star heating provides the strongest present and near term bounds. Simple extensions of our setup allow for the ultralight scalar to constitute the dark matter of the Universe. This suggests that matter-enhanced baryon number violation can be a signal of ultralight dark matter, which has apparently been overlooked, so far.

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H. Davoudiasl
Fri, 14 Apr 23
53/64

Comments: 7 pages, 1 figure

Constraining low-scale dark phase transitions with cosmological observations [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.06576


We investigate the effects of the low-scale cosmological first-order phase transitions on the neutrino decoupling and constrain the PT parameters with the cosmological observations of big bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background. We consider the phase transitions that occur at the MeV-scale which can produce stochastic gravitational wave background to be probed by pulsar timing array experiments. We find that the phase transition can modify the effective number of neutrinos and the primordial nucleosynthesis. In turn, the cosmological observations can exclude slow and strong phase transitions around the MeV scale.

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S. Deng and L. Bian
Fri, 14 Apr 23
54/64

Comments: 6 pages, 5 figures

Multi-brane cosmology [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05586


5D warped extra dimension models with multiple 3-branes can naturally realize multiple hierarchical mass scales which are ubiquitous in physics beyond the Standard Model. We discuss cosmological consequences of such multi-brane models with stabilized radions. It is confirmed that for temperatures below the scale of the IR brane at the end of the extra dimension, we recover the ordinary expansion of the Universe, with the Hubble expansion rate determined by sum of the physical energy densities on all 3-branes where they are localized. In addition, we explore the cosmology for temperatures above the scales of the intermediate and IR branes where the Universe is described by a spacetime with the 3-branes replaced by an event horizon. As the temperature of the Universe cools down, phase transitions are expected to take place, and the intermediate and IR branes come out from behind the event horizon. The Goldberger-Wise mechanism for radion stabilization has a well-known problem of having a supercooled phase transition, which typically does not get completed in time. This problem is even more severe when an intermediate brane is introduced, whose scale is well above TeV, as the corresponding Hubble rate is much larger. We circumvent the problem by employing an alternative mechanism for radion stabilization with dark Yang-Mills fields, which prevents a long supercooling epoch, but still allows the strong first order phase transitions. As a result, the phase transitions in our multi-brane Universe predict a stochastic gravitational wave background with a unique multi-peak signature, which is within the sensitivity reach of future space-based gravitational wave observers. We also show that there are $N-1$ radions for an $N$ 3-brane set-up, unlike a recent claim that there exists only one radion.

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S. Girmohanta, S. Lee, Y. Nakai, et. al.
Thu, 13 Apr 23
1/59

Comments: 34 pages, 6 figures

Impact of dark matter spikes on the merger rates of Primordial Black Holes [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05892


Mergers of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) may contribute to the gravitational wave mergers detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration. We study the dynamics of PBH binaries dressed with dark matter (DM) spikes, for PBHs with extended mass functions. We analyze the impact of DM spikes on the orbital parameters of the PBH binaries formed in the early Universe and calculate their merger rates at the age of the Universe today. We consider two possible scenarios for the dynamics of the dressed binaries: assuming that either the DM spikes are completely evaporated from the binaries before merger or they remain static until the merger. Contrary to previous studies, we find that the presence of spikes may increase or decrease the present-day PBH merger rates, in some cases dramatically. Comparing with merger rates reported by the LVK Collaboration in the third Gravitational Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-3), we derive approximate constraints on the fraction of Solar-mass PBHs in cold dark matter as $f_\mathrm{pbh}\leq \mathcal{O}(10^{-5} – 10^{-3})$, depending on the mass function. Our calculations are valid only for the idealized scenarios in which the DM spikes are either evaporated or static. However, they suggest that the impact of DM spikes on PBH merger rates may be more complicated than previously thought and motivate the development of a more general description of the merger dynamics, including feedback of the DM spikes in highly eccentric PBH binaries.

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P. Jangra, B. Kavanagh and J. Diego
Thu, 13 Apr 23
6/59

Comments: 29 pages, 12 figures + 2 appendices

Cosmological constraints from standardized non-CMB observations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05522


The current expansion of the Universe has been observed to be accelerating, and the widely accepted spatially-flat concordance model of general relativistic cosmology attributes this phenomenon to a constant dark energy, a cosmological constant, which is measured to comprise about 70% of the total energy budget of the current Universe. However, observational discrepancies and theoretical puzzles have raised questions about this model, suggesting that alternative cosmological models with non-zero spatial curvature and/or dark energy dynamics might provide better explanations.
To explore these possibilities, we have conducted a series of studies using standardized, lower-redshift observations to constrain six different cosmological models with varying degrees of flatness and dark energy dynamics. Through comparing these observations with theoretical predictions, we aim to deepen our understanding of the evolution of the Universe and shed new light on its mysteries. Our data provide consistent cosmological constraints across all six models, with some suggesting the possibility of mild dark energy dynamics and slight spatial curvature. However, these joint constraints do not rule out the possibility of dark energy being a cosmological constant and the spatial hypersurfaces being flat. Overall, our findings contribute to the ongoing efforts to refine our understanding of the Universe and its properties, and suggest that multiple cosmological models remain viable.

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S. Cao
Thu, 13 Apr 23
10/59

Comments: Ph.D. thesis, Kansas State University

Lensing with generalized symmetrons [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05875


Generalized symmetrons are models that have qualitatively similar features to the archetypal symmetron, but have barely been studied. In this article, we investigate for what parameter values the fifth forces induced by disformally coupling generalized symmetrons can provide an explanation for the difference between baryonic and lens masses of galaxies. While it is known that the standard symmetron struggles with providing an alternative source for the lensing otherwise attributed to particle dark matter, we show that some generalized symmetron models are more suitable for complying with existing constraints on disformal couplings. This motivates future studies of these only little explored models.

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C. Käding
Thu, 13 Apr 23
11/59

Comments: 18 pages, 4 figures

Cosmic Strings from Thermal Inflation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05666


Thermal inflation was proposed as a mechanism to dilute the density of cosmological moduli. Thermal inflation is driven by a complex scalar field possessing a large vacuum expectation value and a very flat potential, called a `flaton’. Such a model admits cosmic string solutions, and a network of such strings will inevitably form in the symmetry breaking phase transition at the end of the period of thermal inflation. We discuss the differences of these strings compared to the strings which form in the Abelian Higgs model. Specifically, we find that the upper bound on the symmetry breaking scale is parametrically lower than in the case of Abelian Higgs strings, and that the lower cutoff on the string loop distribution is determined by cusp annihilation rather than by gravitational radiation (for the value of the transition temperature proposed in the original work on thermal inflation).

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R. Brandenberger and A. Favero
Thu, 13 Apr 23
31/59

Comments: 6 pages

Fuzzy dark matter confronts rotation curves of nearby dwarf irregular galaxies [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05793


We investigate phenomenologically the viability of fuzzy dark matter (FDM). We do this by confronting the predictions of the model, in particular the formation of a solitonic core at the centre of dark matter haloes, with a homogeneous and robust sample of high-resolution rotation curves from the LITTLE THINGS in 3D'' catalog. This comprises a collection of isolated, dark matter dominated dwarf-irregular galaxies that provides an optimal benchmark for cosmological studies. We use a statistical framework based on Markov-Chain Monte Carlo techniques that allows us to extract relevant parameters such as the axion mass, the mass of the solitonic core, the mass of the dark matter halo and its concentration parameter with a rather loose set of priors except for the implementation of a core-halo relation that is predicted by simulations. The results of the fits are used to perform various diagnostics on the predictions of the model. FDM provides an excellent fit to the rotation curves of theLITTLE THINGS in 3D” catalog, with axion masses determined from different galaxies clustering around $m_a\approx2\times10^{-23}$ eV. However we find two major problems in our analysis. First, the data follow scaling relations of the properties of the core which are not consistent with the predictions of the soliton. This problem is particularly acute in the core radius – mass relation with a tension that, at face value, has a significance $\gtrsim5\sigma$. The second problem is related to the strong suppression of the linear power spectrum that is predicted by FDM for the axion mass preferred by the data. This can be constrained very conservatively by the galaxy counts in our sample, which leads to a tension exceeding again $5\sigma$. We estimate the effects of baryons in our analysis and discuss whether they could alleviate the tensions of the model with observations.

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A. Bañares-Hernández, A. Castillo, J. Camalich, et. al.
Thu, 13 Apr 23
32/59

Comments: 22 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables

Self-resonant Dark Matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05942


We present a review on the self-resonant dark matter scenarios where multiple components of dark matter give rise to a resonant condition in the $u$-channel diagrams for their comparable masses. In this case, there is no need of lighter mediators for enhancing the self-scattering and annihilation cross sections for dark matter. We discuss the velocity-dependent self-scattering for the small-scale problems, the relic density of self-resonant dark matter, and the observable signatures in indirect and detection experiments.

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H. Lee
Thu, 13 Apr 23
39/59

Comments: 7 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings for the 19th Rencontres du Vietnam Theory Meeting Experiment (TMEX) 2023

Revisiting Affleck-Dine Leptogenesis with light sleptons [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05614


We revisit the Affleck-Dine leptogenesis via the $L H_u$ flat direction with a light slepton field. Although the light slepton field is favored in low-energy SUSY phenomenologies, such as the muon $g-2$ anomaly and bino-slepton coannihilation, it may cause a problem in the Affleck-Dine leptogenesis: it may create an unwanted charge-breaking vacuum in the Affleck-Dine field potential so that the Affleck-Dine field is trapped during the course of leptogenesis. We investigate the conditions under which such an unwanted vacuum exists and clarify that both thermal and quantum corrections are important for the (temporal) disappearance of the charge-breaking minimum. We also confirm that if the charge-breaking vacuum disappears due to the thermal or quantum correction, the correct baryon asymmetry can be produced while avoiding the cosmological gravitino problem.

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K. Enomoto, K. Hamaguchi, K. Kamada, et. al.
Thu, 13 Apr 23
45/59

Comments: 12 pages, 2 figures

Monomial warm inflation revisited [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05978


We revisit the idea that the inflaton may have dissipated part of its energy into a thermal bath during inflation, considering monomial inflationary potentials and three different forms of dissipation rate. Using a numerical Fokker-Planck approach to describe the stochastic dynamics of inflationary fluctuations, we confront this scenario with current bounds on the spectrum of curvature fluctuations and primordial gravitational waves. We also obtain analytical approximations that outperform those frequently used in previous analyses. We show that only our numerical Fokker-Planck method is accurate, fast and precise enough to test these models against current data. We advocate its use in future studies of warm inflation. We also apply the stochastic inflation formalism to this scenario, finding that a commonly implemented large thermal correction to the primordial spectrum–that had been argued to become apparent with it–is actually not required. Improved bounds on the scalar spectral index will further constrain warm inflation in the near future.

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G. Ballesteros, A. Rodríguez and M. Pierre
Thu, 13 Apr 23
55/59

Comments: 55 pages, 12 figures

Updated Constraints and Future Prospects on Majoron Dark Matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04430


Majorons are (pseudo-)Nambu-Goldstone bosons associated with lepton number symmetry breaking due to the Majorana mass term of neutrinos introduced in the seesaw mechanism. They are good dark matter candidates since their lifetime is suppressed by the lepton number breaking scale. We update constraints and discuss future prospects on majoron dark matter in the singlet majoron models based on neutrino, gamma-ray, and cosmic-ray telescopes in the mass region of MeV–10 TeV.

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K. Akita and M. Niibo
Wed, 12 Apr 23
3/45

Comments: 25 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

Solving the domain wall problem with first-order phase transition [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05220


Domain wall networks are two-dimensional topological defects generally predicted in many beyond standard model physics. In this Letter, we propose to solve the domain wall problem with the first-order phase transition. We numerically study the phase transition dynamics, and for the first time show that the domain walls reached scaling regime can be diluted through the interaction with vacuum bubbles during the first-order phase transition. We find that the amplitude of the gravitational waves produced by the second-stage first-order phase transition is several orders higher than that from the domain walls evolution in the scaling regime. The scale of the first-order phase transition that dilute the domain walls can be probed through gravitational waves detection.

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Y. Li, L. Bian and Y. Jia
Wed, 12 Apr 23
18/45

Comments: 6+7 pages, 6+6 figures

Applications of the gamma/hadron discriminator $LCm$ to realistic air shower array experiments [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05348


In this article, it is shown that the $C_k$ and $LCm$ variables, recently introduced as an effective way to discriminate gamma and proton-induced showers in large wide-field gamma-ray observatories, can be generalised to be used in arrays of different detectors and variable fill factors. In particular, the $C_k$ profile discrimination capabilities are evaluated for scintillator and water Cherenkov detector arrays.

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R. Conceição, P. Costa, L. Gibilisco, et. al.
Wed, 12 Apr 23
23/45

Comments: N/A

Characterizing quasi-steady states of fast neutrino-flavor conversion by stability and conservation laws [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05044


The question of what ingredients characterize the quasi-steady state of fast neutrino-flavor conversion (FFC) is one of the long-standing riddles in neutrino oscillation. Addressing this issue is necessary for accurate modeling of neutrino transport in core-collapse supernova and binary neutron star merger. Recent numerical simulations of FFC have shown, however, that the quasi-steady state is sensitively dependent on boundary conditions in space, and the physical reason for the dependence is not clear at present. In this study, we provide a physical interpretation of this issue based on arguments with stability and conservation laws. The stability can be determined by the disappearance of ELN(electron neutrino-lepton number)-XLN(heavy-leptonic one) angular crossings, and we also highlight two conserved quantities characterizing the quasi-steady state of FFC: (1) lepton number conservation along each neutrino trajectory and (2) conservation law associated with angular moments, depending on boundary conditions, for each flavor of neutrinos. We demonstrate that neutrino distributions in quasi-steady states can be determined in an analytic way regardless of boundary conditions, which are in good agreement with numerical simulations. This study represents a major step forward a unified picture determining asymptotic states of FFCs.

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M. Zaizen and H. Nagakura
Wed, 12 Apr 23
32/45

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PRD

Primordial Black Hole Archaeology with Gravitational Waves from Cosmic Strings [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04793


Light primordial black holes (PBHs) with masses smaller than $10^9$ g ($10^{-24} M_\odot$) evaporate before the onset of Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, rendering their detection rather challenging. If efficiently produced, they may have dominated the universe energy density. We study how such an early matter-dominated era can be probed successfully using gravitational waves (GW) emitted by local and global cosmic strings. While previous studies showed that a matter era generates a single-step suppression of the GW spectrum, we instead find a “double-step” suppression for local-string GW whose spectral shape provides information on the duration of the matter era. The presence of the two steps in the GW spectrum originates from GW being produced through two events separated in time: loop formation and loop decay, taking place either before or after the matter era. The second step – called the “knee” – is a novel feature which is universal to any early matter-dominated era and is not only specific to PBHs. Detecting GWs from cosmic strings with LISA, ET, or BBO would set constraints on PBHs with masses between $10^6$ and $10^9$ g for local strings with tension $G\mu = 10^{-11}$, and PBHs masses between $10^4$ and $10^9$ g for global strings with symmetry-breaking scale $\eta = 10^{15}~\mathrm{GeV}$. Effects from the spin of PBHs are discussed.

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A. Ghoshal, Y. Gouttenoire, L. Heurtier, et. al.
Wed, 12 Apr 23
39/45

Comments: 21 pages, 9 figures (main text without references) + 4 pages, 3 figures (appendices)

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: DR6 Gravitational Lensing Map and Cosmological Parameters [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.05203


We present cosmological constraints from a gravitational lensing mass map covering 9400 sq. deg. reconstructed from CMB measurements made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) from 2017 to 2021. In combination with BAO measurements (from SDSS and 6dF), we obtain the amplitude of matter fluctuations $\sigma_8 = 0.819 \pm 0.015$ at 1.8% precision, $S_8\equiv\sigma_8({\Omega_{\rm m}}/0.3)^{0.5}=0.840\pm0.028$ and the Hubble constant $H_0= (68.3 \pm 1.1)\, \text{km}\,\text{s}^{-1}\,\text{Mpc}^{-1}$ at 1.6% precision. A joint constraint with CMB lensing measured by the Planck satellite yields even more precise values: $\sigma_8 = 0.812 \pm 0.013$, $S_8\equiv\sigma_8({\Omega_{\rm m}}/0.3)^{0.5}=0.831\pm0.023$ and $H_0= (68.1 \pm 1.0)\, \text{km}\,\text{s}^{-1}\,\text{Mpc}^{-1}$. These measurements agree well with $\Lambda$CDM-model extrapolations from the CMB anisotropies measured by Planck. To compare these constraints to those from the KiDS, DES, and HSC galaxy surveys, we revisit those data sets with a uniform set of assumptions, and find $S_8$ from all three surveys are lower than that from ACT+Planck lensing by varying levels ranging from 1.7-2.1$\sigma$. These results motivate further measurements and comparison, not just between the CMB anisotropies and galaxy lensing, but also between CMB lensing probing $z\sim 0.5-5$ on mostly-linear scales and galaxy lensing at $z\sim 0.5$ on smaller scales. We combine our CMB lensing measurements with CMB anisotropies to constrain extensions of $\Lambda$CDM, limiting the sum of the neutrino masses to $\sum m_{\nu} < 0.12$ eV (95% c.l.), for example. Our results provide independent confirmation that the universe is spatially flat, conforms with general relativity, and is described remarkably well by the $\Lambda$CDM model, while paving a promising path for neutrino physics with gravitational lensing from upcoming ground-based CMB surveys.

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M. Madhavacheril, F. Qu, B. Sherwin, et. al.
Wed, 12 Apr 23
42/45

Comments: 30 pages, 16 figures, prepared for submission to ApJ. Cosmological likelihood data is here: this https URL ; likelihood software is here: this https URL . Also see companion papers Qu et al and MacCrann et al. Mass maps will be released when papers are published

There and back again: Solar cycle effects in future measurements of low-energy atmospheric neutrinos [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04689


We study the impact of time-dependent solar cycles in the atmospheric neutrino rate at DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande (HK), focusing in particular on the flux below 1 GeV. Including the effect of neutrino oscillations for the upward-going component that travels through the Earth, we find that across the solar cycle the amplitude of time variation is about $\pm5\%$ at DUNE, and $\pm 1\%$ at HK. At DUNE, the ratio of up/down-going events ranges from 0.45 to 0.85, while at HK, it ranges from 0.75 to 1.5. Over the 11-year solar cycle, we find that the estimated statistical significance for observing time modulation of atmospheric neutrinos is $4.8\sigma$ for DUNE and $2.0\sigma$ for HK. Flux measurements at both DUNE and HK will be important for understanding systematics in the low-energy atmospheric flux as well as for understanding the effect of oscillations in low-energy atmospheric neutrinos.

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K. Kelly, P. Machado, N. Mishra, et. al.
Tue, 11 Apr 23
15/63

Comments: 6 pages (including one appendix), 5 figures. Comments welcome

Antistars as possible sources of antihelium cosmic rays [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04623


A minor population of antistars in galaxies has been predicted by some of non-standard models of baryogenesis and nucleosynthesis in the early Universe, and their presence is not yet excluded by the currently available observations. Detection of an unusually high abundance of antinuclei in cosmic rays can probe the baryogenesis scenarios in the early Universe. Recent report of the \textit{AMS-02} collaboration on the tentative detection of a few antihelium nuclei in GeV cosmic rays provided a great hope on the progress in this issue. We discuss possible sources of antinuclei in cosmic rays from antistars which are predicted in a modified Affleck-Dine baryogenesis scenario by Dolgov and Silk (1993). The model allows us to estimate the expected fluxes and isotopic content of antinuclei in the GeV cosmic rays produced in scenarios involving antistars. We show that the flux of antihelium CRs reported by the \textit{AMS-02} experiment can be explained by Galactic anti-nova outbursts, thermonuclear anti-SN Ia explosions, a collection of flaring antistars or an extragalactic source with abundances not violating existing gamma-ray and microlensing constraints on the antistar population.

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A. Bykov, K. Postnov, A. Bondar, et. al.
Tue, 11 Apr 23
21/63

Comments: 14 pages, to be submitted. Comments are welcome!

A Solar Investigation of Multicomponent Dark Matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04721


If multiple thermal weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter candidates exist, then their capture and annihilation dynamics inside a massive stars such as Sun could change from conventional method of study. With a simple correction to time evolution of dark matter (DM) number abundance inside the Sun for multiple dark matter candidates, significant changes in DM annihilation flux depending on annihilation, direct detection cross-section, internal conversion and their contribution to relic abundance are reported in present work.

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A. Banik
Tue, 11 Apr 23
23/63

Comments: 12 pages, 8 figures

Galileon inflation evades the no-go for PBH formation in the single-field framework [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04065


We consider Galileon inflation in the Effective Field Theory (EFT) framework and examine the possibility for PBH formation during slow roll (SR) to ultra slow roll (USR) transitions. We show that loop corrections to the power spectrum, in this case, do not impose additional constraints on the masses of PBHs produced. We indicate that the remarkable non-renormalization property of Galileon due to generalized shift symmetry is responsible for protecting PBH formation from quantum loop corrections.

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S. Choudhury, S. Panda and M. Sami
Tue, 11 Apr 23
26/63

Comments: 44 pages, 2 figures, Comments are welcome

Perils of Towers in the Swamp: Dark Dimensions and the Robustness of Effective Field Theories [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03902


Recently there has been an interesting revival of the idea to use large extra dimensions to address the dark energy problem, exploiting the (true) observation that towers of states with masses split, by $M^2_N = f(N) m^2,$ with $f$ an unbounded function of the integer $N$, sometimes contribute to the vacuum energy only an amount of order $m^D$ in $D$ dimensions. It has been argued that this fact is a consequence of swampland conjectures and may require a departure from Effective Field Theory (EFT) reasoning. We test this claim with calculations for Casimir energies in extra dimensions. We show why the domain of validity for EFTs ensures that the tower spacing scale $m$ is always an upper bound on the UV scale for the lower-energy effective theory; use of an EFT with a cutoff part way up a tower is not a controlled approximation. We highlight the role played by the sometimes-suppressed contributions from towers in extra-dimensional approaches to the cosmological constant problem, old and new, and point out difficulties encountered in exploiting it. We compare recent swampland realizations of these arguments with earlier approaches using standard EFT examples, discussing successes and limitations of both.

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C. Burgess and F. Quevedo
Tue, 11 Apr 23
28/63

Comments: 11 pages, 1 figure

Detecting Stochastic Wave Dark Matter with Fermi-LAT $γ$-ray Pulsar Timing Array [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04735


Wave dark matter (DM) represents a class of the most representative DM candidates. Due to its periodic perturbation to spacetime, the wave DM can be detected with a galactic interferometer – pulsar timing array (PTA). We perform in this Letter a first analysis of applying the $\gamma$-ray PTA to detect the wave DM, with the data of Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). Despite the limitation in statistics, the $\gamma$-PTA demonstrates a promising sensitivity potential for a mass $\sim 10^{-23}-10^{-22}$ eV. We show that the upper limits not far from those of the dedicated radio-PTA projects can be achieved. Particularly, we have fulfilled an analysis to cross-correlate the pulsar data, which has been essentially missing so far in real data analysis but is known to be crucial for identifying the nature of potential signals, with the Fermi-LAT data of two pulsars.

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H. Luu, T. Liu, J. Ren, et. al.
Tue, 11 Apr 23
47/63

Comments: 5 pages, 3 figures. Comments welcome!

Variation of the quadrupole hyperfine structure and nuclear radius due to an interaction with scalar and axion dark matter [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04469


Atomic spectroscopy is used to search for the space-time variation of fundamental constants which may be due to an interaction with scalar and pseudo-scalar (axion) dark matter. In this letter, we study the effects which are produced by the variation of the nuclear radius and electric quadrupole moment. The sensitivity of the electric quadrupole hyperfine structure to both the variation of the quark mass and the effects of dark matter exceeds that of the magnetic hyperfine structure by 1-2 orders of magnitude. Therefore, the measurement of the variation of the ratio of the electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole hyperfine constants is proposed. The sensitivity of the optical clock transitions in the Yb$^+$ ion to the variation of the nuclear radius allows us to extract, from experimental data, limits on the variation of the hadron and quark masses, the QCD parameter $\theta$ and the interaction with axion and scalar dark matter.

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V. Flambaum and A. Mansour
Tue, 11 Apr 23
52/63

Comments: N/A

Self-interactions of ULDM to the rescue? [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04463


One of the most important questions in cosmology is concerning the fundamental nature of dark matter (DM). DM could consist of spinless particles of very small mass i.e. $m \sim 10^{-22}\ \text{eV}$. This kind of ultralight dark matter (ULDM) would form cored density profiles (called “solitons”) at the centre of galaxies. In this context, recently it has been argued that (a) there exists a power law relation between the mass of the soliton and mass of the surrounding halo called the Soliton-Halo (SH) relation, and, (b) the requirement of satisfying observed galactic rotation curves as well as SH relations is so stringent that ULDM is disfavoured from comprising $100\%$ of the total cosmological dark matter. In this work, we revisit these constraints for ULDM particles with non-negligible quartic self-interactions. Using a recently obtained soliton-halo relation which takes into account the effect of self-interactions, we present evidence which suggests that, for $m = 10^{-22}\ \text{eV}$, the requirement of satisfying both galactic rotation curves as well as SH relations can be fulfilled with repulsive self-coupling $\lambda \sim \mathcal{O}(10^{-90})$.

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B. Dave and G. Goswami
Tue, 11 Apr 23
58/63

Comments: 26 pages, 8 figures

MSSM-inflation revisited: Towards a coherent description of high-energy physics and cosmology [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04534


The aim of this paper is to highlight the challenges and potential gains surrounding a coherent description of physics from the high-energy scales of inflation down to the lower energy scales probed in particle-physics experiments. As an example, we revisit the way inflation can be realised within an effective Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (eMSSM), in which the $LLe$ and $udd$ flat directions are lifted by the combined effect of soft-supersymmetric-breaking masses already present in the MSSM, together with the addition of effective non-renormalizable operators. We clarify some features of the model and address the question of the one-loop Renormalization Group improvement of the inflationary potential, discussing its impact on the fine-tuning of the model. We also compare the parameter space that is compatible with current observations (in particular the amplitude, $A_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, and the spectral index, $n_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, of the primordial cosmological fluctuations) at tree level and at one loop, and discuss the role of reheating. Finally we perform combined fits of particle and cosmological observables (mainly $A_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, $n_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, the Higgs mass, and the cold-dark-matter energy density) with the one-loop inflationary potential applied to some examples of dark-matter annihilation channels (Higgs-funnel, Higgsinos and A-funnel), and discuss the status of the ensuing MSSM spectra with respect to the LHC searches.

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G. Weymann-Despres, S. Henrot-Versillé, G. Moultaka, et. al.
Tue, 11 Apr 23
62/63

Comments: 38 pages, 7 figures

Ultraslow PSR J0901-4046 with an ultrahigh magnetic field of $3.2\times10^{16}$ G [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03702


The recent discovery of a radio-emitting neutron star with an ultralong spin period of 76 s, PSR J0901-4046, raises a fundamental question on how such a slowly rotating magnetized object can be active in the radio band. A canonical magnetic field of $1.3\times10^{14}$ G estimated from the pulsar period and its time derivative is wholly insufficient for PSR J0901-4046 to operate. Consideration of a magnetic inclination angle of $10^\circ$ estimated from the pulse width gives a higher magnetic field of $1.5\times10^{15}$ G, which is still an order of magnitude lower than the necessary minimum of $2.5\times10^{16}$ G following from the death line for radio pulsars with magnetic fields exceeding the critical value $4.4\times10^{13}$ G. We show that if the observed microstructure of single pulses reflects relativistic beaming, the inferred surface magnetic field appears to be $3.2\times10^{16}$ G, and without this assumption it is no less than $2.7\times10^{16}$ G, which explains the existence of radio emission from PSR J0901-4046. This estimation makes PSR J0901-4046 a radio pulsar with the strongest magnetic field known and is a sign that PSR J0901-4046 slows down not by magnetic-dipole radiation, but rather by an electric current of 56 MA, when rotational energy is expended in accelerating charged particles over the polar cap.

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D. Sob’yanin
Mon, 10 Apr 23
12/36

Comments: 6 pages

Revisiting proton-proton fusion in chiral effective field theory [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03327


We calculate the $S$-factor for proton-proton fusion using chiral effective field theory interactions and currents. By performing order-by-order calculations with a variety of chiral interactions that are regularized and calibrated in different ways, we assess the uncertainty in the $S$-factor from the truncation of the effective field theory expansion and from the sensitivity of the $S$-factor to the short-distance axial current determined from three- and four-nucleon observables. We find that $S(0)=(4.100\pm0.019\mathrm{(syst)}\pm0.013\mathrm{(stat)}\pm0.008(g_A))\times10^{-23}~\mathrm{MeV\,fm}^2\,,$ where the three uncertainties arise, respectively, from the truncation of the effective field theory expansion, use of the two-nucleon axial current fit to few-nucleon observables and variation of the axial coupling constant within the recommended range.

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B. Acharya, L. Marcucci and L. Platter
Mon, 10 Apr 23
31/36

Comments: N/A

Neutrino spin and flavor oscillations in gravitational fields [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03622


We study spin and flavor oscillations of astrophysical neutrinos under the influence of external fields in curved spacetime. First, we consider spin oscillations in case of neutrinos gravitationally scattered off a rotating supermassive black hole surrounded by a thin magnetized accretion disk. We find that the gravitational interaction only does not result in the spin-flip of scattered ultrarelativistic neutrinos. Realistic magnetic fields lead to the significant reduction of the observed flux of neutrinos possessing reasonable magnetic moments. Second, we study neutrino flavor oscillations in stochastic gravitational waves (GWs). We derive the effective Hamiltonian for neutrinos interacting with a plane GW having an arbitrary polarization. Then, we consider stochastic GWs with arbitrary correlators of amplitudes. The equation for the density matrix for neutrino oscillations is solved analytically and the probabilities to detect certain neutrino flavors are derived. We find that the interaction of neutrinos, emitted by a core-collapsing supernova, with the stochastic GW background results in the several percent change of the neutrino fluxes. The observability of the predicted effects is discussed.

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M. Dvornikov
Mon, 10 Apr 23
32/36

Comments: 8 pages in LaTeX2e, 8 eps figures, contribution to proceedings of International Conference on Quantum Field Theory, High-Energy Physics, and Cosmology (July 18-21, 2022; JINR, Dubna, Russia), to be published in Phys. Part. Nucl. Lett

Did the Universe Reheat After Recombination? [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03750


A key assumption of the standard cosmological model is that the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation scales with cosmological redshift $z$ as $T_{\rm CMB}(z) \propto (1+z)$ at all times after recombination at $z_\star \simeq 1090$. However, this assumption has only been precisely tested at $z \lesssim 3$. Here, we consider cosmological models with post-recombination reheating (PRR), in which the CMB monopole temperature abruptly increases due to energy injection after last scattering. Such a scenario can potentially resolve tensions between inferences of the current cosmic expansion rate (the Hubble constant, $H_0$). We consider an explicit model in which a metastable sub-component of dark matter (DM) decays to Standard Model photons, whose spectral energy distribution is assumed to be close to that of the CMB blackbody. A fit to Planck CMB anisotropy, COBE/FIRAS CMB monopole, and SH0ES distance-ladder measurements yields $H_0 = 71.2 \pm 1.1$ km/s/Mpc, matter fluctuation amplitude $S_8 = 0.774 \pm 0.018$, and CMB temperature increase $\delta T_{\rm CMB} = 0.109^{+0.033}{-0.044}$ K, which is sourced by DM decay at $z \gtrsim 10$. However, matter density constraints from baryon acoustic oscillation and supernovae data highly constrain this scenario, with a joint fit to all datasets yielding $H_0 = 68.69 \pm 0.35$ km/s/Mpc, $S_8 = 0.8035 \pm 0.0081$, and $\delta T{\rm CMB} < 0.0342$ K (95% CL upper limit). These bounds can be weakened if additional dark relativistic species are present in the early universe, yielding higher $H_0$. We conclude that current data disfavor models with significant PRR solely through its impact on background and linear-theory observables, completely independent of CMB spectral distortion constraints. However, a small amount of such energy injection could play a role in restoring cosmological concordance.

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J. Hill and B. Bolliet
Mon, 10 Apr 23
33/36

Comments: 6+8 pages, 1+1 figures