arXiv subjects

Alexander Kusenko

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander Kusenko.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Constraining Primordial Black Holes with Dwarf Galaxy Heating

Black holes formed in the early universe, prior to the formation of stars, can exist as dark matter and also contribute to the black hole merger events observed in gravitational waves. We set a new limit on the abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs) by considering interactions of PBHs with the interstellar medium, which result in the heating of gas. We examine generic heating mechanisms, including emission from the accretion disk, dynamical friction, and disk outflows. Using the data from the Leo T dwarf galaxy, we set a new cosmology-independent limit on the abundance of PBHs in the mass range $\mathcal{O}(1) M_{\odot}-10^7 M_{\odot}$, relevant for the recently detected gravitational wave signals from intermediate-mass BHs.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Test for the Origin of Solar Mass Black Holes

Solar-mass black holes with masses in the range of $\sim 1-2.5 M_{\odot}$ are not expected from conventional stellar evolution, but can be produced naturally via neutron star (NS) implosions induced by capture of small primordial black holes (PBHs) or from accumulation of some varieties of particle dark matter. We argue that a unique signature of such "transmuted" solar-mass BHs is that their mass distribution would follow that of the NSs. This would be distinct from the mass function of black holes in the solar-mass range predicted either by conventional stellar evolution or early Universe PBH production. We propose that analysis of the solar-mass BH population mass distribution in a narrow mass window of $\sim 1-2.5\,{\rm M}_\odot$ can provide a simple yet powerful test of the origin of these BHs. Recent LIGO/VIRGO gravitational wave (GW) observations of the binary merger events GW190425 and GW190814 are consistent with a BH mass in the range $\sim 1.5-2.6~M_{\odot}$. Though these results have fueled speculation on dark matter-transmuted solar-mass BHs, we demonstrate that it is unlikely that the origin of these particular events stems from NS implosions. Data from upcoming GW observations will be able to distinguish between solar-mass BHs and NSs with high confidence. This capability will facilitate and enhance the efficacy of our proposed test.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Testing Stochastic Gravitational Wave Signals from Primordial Black Holes with Optical Telescopes

Primordial black holes (PBHs) can constitute the predominant fraction of dark matter (DM) if PBHs reside in the currently unconstrained "sublunar" mass range. PBHs originating from scalar perturbations generated during inflation can naturally appear with a broad spectrum in a class of models. The resulting stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background generated from such PBH production can account for the recently reported North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) pulsar timing array data signal, and will be testable in future GW observations by interferometer-type experiments such as Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We show that the broad mass function of such PBH DM is already being probed by Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) microlensing data and is consistent with a detected candidate event. Upcoming observations of HSC will be able to provide an independent definitive test of the stochastic GW signals originating from such PBH DM production scenarios.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Primordial black holes from long-range scalar forces and scalar radiative cooling

We describe a new scenario for the formation of primordial black holes (PBHs). In the early Universe, the long-range forces mediated by the scalar fields can lead to formation of halos of heavy particles even during the radiation-dominated era. The same interactions result in the emission of scalar radiation from the motion and close encounters of particles in such halos. Radiative cooling due the scalar radiation allows the halos to collapse to black holes. We illustrate this scenario on a simple model with fermions interacting via the Yukawa forces. The abundance and the mass function of PBHs are suitable to account for all dark matter, or for some gravitational wave events detected by LIGO. The model relates the mass of the dark-sector particles to the masses and abundance of dark matter PBHs in a way that can explain why the dark matter and the ordinary matter have similar mass densities. The model also predicts a small contribution to the number of effective light degrees of freedom, which can help reconcile different measurements of the Hubble constant.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Exploring Primordial Black Holes from the Multiverse with Optical Telescopes

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are a viable candidate for dark matter if the PBH masses are in the currently unconstrained "sublunar" mass range. We revisit the possibility that PBHs were produced by nucleation of false vacuum bubbles during inflation. We show that this scenario can produce a population of PBHs that simultaneously accounts for all dark matter, explains the candidate event in Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) data, and contains both heavy black holes as observed by LIGO and very heavy seeds of supermassive black holes. We demonstrate with numerical studies that future observations of HSC, as well as other optical surveys, such as LSST, will be able to provide a definitive test for this generic PBH formation mechanism if it is the dominant source of dark matter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on sterile neutrino and lepton asymmetry of the Universe

We consider the cosmological effects of sterile neutrinos with the masses of $150- 450$ MeV. The decay of sterile neutrinos changes the thermal history of the Universe and affects the energy density of radiation at the recombination and the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) results. We derive severe constraints on the parameters of sterile neutrinos from the primordial abundances of helium-4 and deuterium. We also find that in a particular model the constraints can be considerably relaxed by assuming a large lepton asymmetry in the active neutrinos. In this case, the consistent parameters result in $N_{\mathrm{eff}} \simeq 3.2- 3.4$ and can alleviate the Hubble tension.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

New Constraints on Millicharged Particles from Cosmic-ray Production

We study the production of exotic millicharged particles (MCPs) from cosmic ray-atmosphere collisions which constitutes a permanent MCP production source for all terrestrial experiments Our calculation of the MCP flux can be used to reinterpret existing limits from experiments such as MACRO and Majorana on an ambient flux of ionizing particles. Large-scale underground neutrino detectors are particularly favorable targets for the resulting MCPs. Using available data from the Super-K experiment, we set new limits on MCPs, which are the best in sensitivity reach for the mass range $0.1 \lesssim m_χ \lesssim 0.5$ GeV, and which are competitive with accelerator-based searches for masses up to 1.5 GeV. Applying these constraints to models where a sub-dominant component of dark matter (DM) is fractionally charged allows us to probe parts of the parameter space that are challenging for conventional direct-detection DM experiments, independently of any assumptions about the DM abundance. These results can be further improved with the next generation of large-scale neutrino detectors.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Solitosynthesis and Gravitational Waves

We study the gravitational wave phenomenology in models of solitosynthesis. In such models, a first order phase transition is precipitated by a period in which non-topological solitons with a conserved global charge (Q-balls) accumulate charge. As such, the nucleation rate of critical bubbles differs significantly from thermal phase transitions. In general we find that the peak amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum resulting from solitosynthesis is stronger than that of a thermal phase transition and the timescale of the onset of nonlinear plasma dynamics is comparable to Hubble. We demonstrate this explicitly in an asymmetric dark matter model, and discuss current and future constraints in this scenario.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Fundamental Forces and Scalar Field Dynamics in the Early Universe

Scalar weak gravity conjectures (SWGCs) attempt to pinpoint the ranges of couplings consistent with a fundamental theory of all interactions. We identify a generic dynamical consequence of these conjectures for cosmology and show that SWGCs imply a particular behavior of the scalar fields in the early universe. A scalar field that develops a large expectation value during inflation must relax to the minimum of effective potential at a later time. SWGCs imply that a homogeneous distribution of the field is unstable with respect to fragmentation into localized lumps, which could potentially lead to significant consequences for cosmology.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

Leptogenesis from spontaneous symmetry breaking during inflation

Symmetry breaking in the Higgs field via a non-minimal coupling to gravity or higher-dimensional interactions with the inflaton can lead to condensation at a large vacuum expectation value (VEV) during inflation. After inflation is over, the Higgs field must relax to the minimum of its effective potential, creating an era in which the CPT is effectively broken by the time-depended VEV. We show that the matter-antimatter asymmetry can be generated during this relaxation epoch.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Analytic Description of Primordial Black Hole Formation from Scalar Field Fragmentation

Primordial black hole (PBH) formation is a more generic phenomenon than was once thought. The dynamics of a scalar field in inflationary universe can produce PBHs under mild assumptions regarding the scalar potential. In the early universe, light scalar fields develop large expectation values during inflation and subsequently relax to the minimum of the effective potential at a later time. During the relaxation process, an initially homogeneous scalar condensate can fragment into lumps via an instability similar to the gravitational (Jeans) instability, where the scalar self-interactions, rather than gravity, play the leading role. The fragmentation of the scalar field into lumps (e.g. Q-balls or oscillons) creates matter composed of relatively few heavy "particles", whose distribution is subject to significant fluctuations unconstrained by comic microwave background (CMB) observations and unrelated to the large-scale structure. If this matter component comes to temporarily dominate the energy density before the scalar lumps decay, PBHs can be efficiently produced during the temporary matter-dominated era. We develop a general analytic framework for description of PBH formation in this class of models. We highlight the differences between the scalar fragmentation scenario and other commonly considered PBH formation models. Given the existence of the Higgs field and the preponderance of scalar fields within supersymmetric and other models of new physics, PBHs constitute an appealing and plausible candidate for dark matter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Hidden Treasures: sterile neutrinos as dark matter with miraculous abundance, structure formation for different production mechanisms, and a solution to the sigma-8 problem

We discuss numerous mechanisms for production of sterile neutrinos, which can account for all or a fraction of dark matter, and which can range from warm to effectively cold dark matter, depending on the cosmological scenario. We investigate production by Higgs boson decay, $(B-L)$ gauge boson production at high temperature, as well as production via resonant and nonresonant neutrino oscillations. We calculate the effects on structure formation in these models, some for the first time. If two populations of sterile neutrinos, one warm and one cold, were produced by different mechanisms, or if sterile neutrinos account for only a fraction of dark matter, while the remainder is some other cold dark matter particle, the resulting multi-component dark matter may alleviate some problems in galaxy formation. We examine the X-ray constraints and the candidate signal at 3.5 keV. Finally, we also show that the $σ_8$ problem can be a signature of fractional dark matter in the form of sterile neutrinos in several mechanisms.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Reflections On the Anomalous ANITA Events: The Antarctic Subsurface as a Possible Explanation

The ANITA balloon experiment was designed to detect radio signals initiated by neutrinos and cosmic ray air showers. These signals are typically discriminated by the polarization and phase inversions of the radio signal. The reflected signal from cosmic rays suffer phase inversion compared to a direct tau neutrino event. In this paper we study sub-surface reflection, which can occur without phase inversion, in the context of the two anomalous up-going events reported by ANITA. We find that subsurface layers and firn density inversions may plausibly account for the events, while ice fabric layers and wind ablation crusts could also play a role. This hypothesis can be tested with radar surveying of the Antarctic region in the vicinity of the anomalous ANITA events. Future experiments should not use phase inversion as a sole criterion to discriminate between downgoing and upgoing events, unless the subsurface reflection properties are well understood.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Positrons and 511 keV radiation as tracers of recent binary neutron star mergers

Neutron-rich material ejected from neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) and neutron star-black hole (NS-BH) binary mergers is heated by nuclear processes to temperatures of a few hundred keV, resulting in a population of electron-positron pairs. Some of the positrons escape from the outer layers of the ejecta. We show that the population of low-energy positrons produced by NS-NS and NS-BH mergers in the Milky Way can account for the observed 511-keV line from the Galactic center (GC). Moreover, we suggest how positrons and the associated 511-keV emission can be used as tracers of recent mergers. Recent discovery of 511 keV emission from the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy Reticulum II, consistent with a rare NS-NS merger event, provides a smoking-gun signature of our proposal.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Cosmic infrared background excess from axion-like particles and implications for multi-messenger observations of blazars

The first measurement of the diffuse background spectrum at 0.8-1.7 $μ\rm{m}$ from the CIBER experiment has revealed a significant excess of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) radiation compared to the theoretically expected spectrum. We revisit the hypothesis that decays of axionlike particle (ALP) can explain this excess, extending previous analyses to the case of a warm relic population. We show that such a scenario is not excluded by anisotropy measurements nor by stellar cooling arguments. Moreover, we find that the increased extragalactic background light (EBL) does not contradict observations of blazar spectra. Furthermore, the increased EBL attenuates the diffuse TeV gamma-ray flux and alleviates the tension between the detected neutrino and gamma ray fluxes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Primordial Black Holes from Inflaton Fragmentation into Oscillons

We show that fragmentation of the inflaton into long-lived spatially localized oscillon configurations can lead to copious production of black holes. In a single-field inflation model primordial black holes of sublunar mass can form, and they can account for all of the dark matter. We also explore the possibility that solar-mass primordial black holes, particularly relevant for gravitational wave astronomy, are produced from the same mechanism.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Constraint on Baryonic Isocurvature Perturbations

We study the effect of large baryonic isocurvature perturbations on the abundance of deuterium (D) synthesized in big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). We found that large baryonic isocurvature perturbations existing at the BBN epoch ($T\sim 0.1\,$MeV) change the D abundance by the second order effect, which, together with the recent precise D measurement, leads to a constraint on the amplitude of the power spectrum of the baryon isocurvature perturbations. The obtained constraint on the amplitude is $\lesssim 0.016 \,(2σ)$ for scale $k^{-1} \gtrsim 0.0025\,\text{pc}$. This gives the most stringent one for $0.1\,\text{Mpc}^{-1} \lesssim k \lesssim 4\times 10^8\, \text{Mpc}^{-1}$. We apply the BBN constraint to the relaxation leptogenesis scenario, where large baryon isocurvature perturbations are produced in the last $N_\text{last}$ $e$-fold of inflation, and we obtain a constraint on $N_\text{last}$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Large Leptonic Dirac CP Phase from Broken Democracy with Random Perturbations

A large value of the leptonic Dirac CP phase can arise from broken democracy, where the mass matrices are democratic up to small random perturbations. Such perturbations are a natural consequence of broken residual $\mathbb S_3$ symmetries that dictate the democratic mass matrices at leading order. With random perturbations, the leptonic Dirac CP phase has a higher probability to attain a value around $\pm π/2$. Comparing with the anarchy model, broken democracy can benefit from residual $\mathbb S_3$ symmetries, and it can produce much better, realistic predictions for the mass hierarchy, mixing angles, and Dirac CP phase in both quark and lepton sectors. Our approach provides a general framework for a class of models in which a residual symmetry determines the general features at leading order, and where, in the absence of other fundamental principles, the symmetry breaking appears in the form of random perturbations.

hep-ph↗