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Opening up a window on the postinflationary QCD axion (2209.09908v2)

Published 20 Sep 2022 in hep-ph and astro-ph.CO

Abstract: The QCD axion cosmology depends crucially on whether the QCD axion is present during inflation or not. We point out that contrary to the standard criterion, the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry could remain unbroken during inflation, even when the axion decay constant, $f_a$, is (much) above the inflationary Hubble scale, $H_I$. This is achieved through the heavy-lifting of the PQ scalar field due to its leading non-renormalizable interaction with the inflaton, encoded in a high-dimensional operator which respects the approximate shift symmetry of the inflaton. The mechanism opens up a new window for the post-inflationary QCD axion and significantly enlarges the parameter space, in which the QCD axion dark matter with $f_a > H_I$ could be compatible with high-scale inflation and free from constraints on axion isocurvature perturbations. There also exist non-derivative couplings, which still keep the inflaton shift symmetry breaking under control, to achieve the heavy-lifting of the PQ field during inflation. Additionally, by introducing an early matter domination era, more parameter space of high $f_a$ could yield the observed DM abundance.

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