arXiv subjects

Kwang Sik Jeong

Publications and source records attributed to Kwang Sik Jeong.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Light Higgsino for Gauge Coupling Unification

We explore gauge coupling unification and dark matter in high scale supersymmetry where the scale of supersymmetry breaking is much above the weak scale. The gauge couplings unify as precisely as in low energy supersymmetry if the higgsinos, whose mass does not break supersymmetry, are much lighter than those obtaining masses from supersymmetry breaking. The dark matter of the universe can then be explained by the neutral higgsino or the gravitino. High scale supersymmetry with light higgsinos requires a large Higgs mixing parameter for electroweak symmetry breaking to take place. It is thus naturally realized in models where superparticle masses are generated at loop level while the Higgs mixing parameter is induced at tree level, like in anomaly and gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Quality of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry in the Aligned QCD Axion and Cosmological Implications

We show that the required high quality of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry can be naturally explained in the aligned QCD axion models where the QCD axion arises from multiple axions with decay constants much smaller than the axion window, e.g., around the weak scale. Even in the presence of general Planck-suppressed Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking operators, the effective strong CP phase remains sufficiently small in contrast to the standard axion models without the alignment. The QCD axion potential has small or large modulations due to the symmetry breaking operators, which can significantly affect the axion cosmology. When the axions are trapped in different minima, domain walls appear and their scaling behavior suppresses the axion isocurvature perturbations at super-horizon scales. Our scenario predicts many axions and saxions coupled to gluons, and they may be searched for at collider experiments. In particular, the recently found diphoton excess at 750 GeV could be due to one of such (s)axions.

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arXiv2016

Topological Defects and nano-Hz Gravitational Waves in Aligned Axion Models

We study the formation and evolution of topological defects in an aligned axion model with multiple Peccei-Quinn scalars, where the QCD axion is realized by a certain combination of the axions with decay constants much smaller than the conventional Peccei-Quinn breaking scale. When the underlying U(1) symmetries are spontaneously broken, the aligned structure in the axion field space exhibits itself as a complicated string-wall network in the real space. We find that the string-wall network likely survives until the QCD phase transition if the number of the Peccei-Quinn scalars is greater than two. The string-wall system collapses during the QCD phase transition, producing a significant amount of gravitational waves in the nano-Hz range at present. The typical decay constant is constrained to be below O(100) TeV by the pulsar timing observations, and the constraint will be improved by a factor of 2 in the future SKA observations.

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arXiv2016

The QCD Axion from Aligned Axions and Diphoton Excess

We argue that the QCD axion can arise from many aligned axions with decay constants much smaller than the conventional axion window. If the typical decay constant is of {\cal O}{(100)} GeV to 1 TeV, one or more of the axions or saxions may account for the recently found diphoton excess at \sim 750 GeV. Our scenario predicts many axions and saxions coupled to gluons with decay constants of order the weak scale, and therefore many collider signatures by heavy axions and saxions will show up at different energy scales. In particular, if the inferred broad decay width is due to multiple axions or saxions, a non-trivial peak structure may become evident when more data is collected. We also discuss cosmological implications of the aligned QCD axion scenario. In the Appendix we give a possible UV completion and argue that the high quality of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is naturally explained in our scenario.

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arXiv2015

Degenerate spectrum in the neutrino mass anarchy with Wishart matrices and implications for $0νββ$ and $δ_{\rm CP}$

We show that a degenerate neutrino mass spectrum can be realized in the neutrino mass anarchy hypothesis, if the neutrino Yukawa and right-handed neutrino mass matrices are given by the Wishart matrix, i.e. products of $N \times 3$ rectangular random matrices, whose eigenvalue distribution tends to degenerate for large $N$. The mixing angle and CP phase distributions are determined by either the Haar measure of U(3) or that of SO(3). We study how large $N$ is allowed to be without tension with the observed neutrino mass squared differences, and find that the predicted value of $m_{ee}$ can be within the reach of future $0νββ$ experiments especially for $N$ on the high side of the allowed range.

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arXiv2015

Diluting the inflationary axion fluctuation by a stronger QCD in the early Universe

We propose a new mechanism to suppress the axion isocurvature perturbation, while producing the right amount of axion dark matter, within the framework of supersymmetric axion models with the axion scale induced by supersymmetry breaking. The mechanism involves an intermediate phase transition to generate the Higgs μ-parameter, before which the weak scale is comparable to the axion scale and the resulting stronger QCD yields an axion mass heavier than the Hubble scale over a certain period. Combined with that the Hubble-induced axion scale during the primordial inflation is well above the intermediate axion scale at present, the stronger QCD in the early Universe suppresses the axion fluctuation to be small enough even when the inflationary Hubble scale saturates the current upper bound, while generating an axion misalignment angle of order unity.

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arXiv2014

Higgs Mixing in the NMSSM and Light Higgsinos

We explore the effects of Higgs mixing in the general next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). Extended to include a gauge singlet, the Higgs sector can naturally explain the observed Higgs boson mass in TeV scale supersymmetry without invoking large stop mixing. This is particularly the case when the singlet scalar is light so that singlet-doublet mixing increases the mass of the SM-like Higgs boson. In such a case the Higgs mixing has interesting implications following from the fact that the higgsino mass parameter and the singlet coupling to Higgs bilinear crucially depend on the Higgs boson masses and mixing angles. For the mixing compatible with the current LHC data on the Higgs signal rates, the higgsinos are required to be relatively light, around or below a few hundred GeV, as long as the heavy doublet Higgs boson has a mass smaller than about 250\sqrt{\tanβ} GeV and the singlet-like Higgs boson is consistent with the LEP constraint. In addition, the Higgs coupling to photons can receive a sizable contribution of either sign from the charged-higgsino loops combined with singlet-doublet mixing.

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arXiv2014

Solving the Tension between High-Scale Inflation and Axion Isocurvature Perturbations

The BICEP2 experiment determined the Hubble parameter during inflation to be about $10^{14}$ GeV. Such high inflation scale is in tension with the QCD axion dark matter if the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry remains broken during and after inflation, because too large axion isocurvature perturbations would be generated. The axion isocurvature perturbations can be suppressed if the axion acquires a sufficiently heavy mass during inflation. We show that this is realized if the PQ symmetry is explicitly broken down to a discrete symmetry and if the breaking is enhanced during inflation. We also show that, even when the PQ symmetry becomes spontaneously broken after inflation, such a temporarily enhanced PQ symmetry breaking relaxes the constraint on the axion decay constant.

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arXiv2014

String theoretic QCD axions in the light of PLANCK and BICEP2

The QCD axion solving the strong CP problem may originate from antisymmetric tensor gauge fields in compactified string theory, with a decay constant around the GUT scale. Such possibility appears to be ruled out now by the detection of tensor modes by BICEP2 and the PLANCK constraints on isocurvature density perturbations. A more interesting and still viable possibility is that the string theoretic QCD axion is charged under an anomalous U(1)_A gauge symmetry. In such case, the axion decay constant can be much lower than the GUT scale if moduli are stabilized near the point of vanishing Fayet-Illiopoulos term, and U(1)_A-charged matter fields get a vacuum value far below the GUT scale due to a tachyonic SUSY breaking scalar mass. We examine the symmetry breaking pattern of such models during the inflationary epoch with the Hubble expansion rate 10^{14} GeV, and identify the range of the QCD axion decay constant, as well as the corresponding relic axion abundance, consistent with known cosmological constraints. In addition to the case that the PQ symmetry is restored during inflation, there are other viable scenarios, including that the PQ symmetry is broken during inflation at high scales around 10^{16}-10^{17} GeV due to a large Hubble-induced tachyonic scalar mass from the U(1)_A D-term, while the present axion scale is in the range 10^{9}-5\times 10^{13} GeV, where the present value larger than 10^{12} GeV requires a fine-tuning of the axion misalignment angle. We also discuss the implications of our results for the size of SUSY breaking soft masses.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

The 7 keV axion dark matter and the X-ray line signal

We propose a scenario where the saxion dominates the energy density of the Universe and reheats the standard model sector via the dilatonic coupling, while its axionic partner contributes to dark matter decaying into photons via the same operator in supersymmetry. Interestingly, for the axion mass $m_a \simeq 7$keV and the decay constant $f_a \simeq 10^{14-15}$GeV, the recently discovered X-ray line at $3.5$keV in the XMM Newton X-ray observatory data can be explained. We discuss various cosmological aspects of the $7$keV axion dark matter such as the production of axion dark matter, the saxion decay process, hot dark matter and isocurvature constraints on the axion dark matter, and the possible baryogenesis scenarios.

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arXiv2014

7 keV sterile neutrino dark matter from split flavor mechanism

The recently discovered X-ray line at about $3.5\,$keV can be explained by sterile neutrino dark matter with mass, $m_s \simeq 7\,$keV, and the mixing, $\sin^2 2θ\sim 10^{-10}$. Such sterile neutrino is more long-lived than estimated based on the seesaw formula, which strongly suggests an extra flavor structure in the seesaw sector. We show that one can explain both the small mass and the longevity based on the split flavor mechanism where the breaking of flavor symmetry is tied to the breaking of the $B-L$ symmetry. In a supersymmetric case we find that the $7\,$keV sterile neutrino implies the gravitino mass about $100\,$TeV.

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arXiv2013

Moduli-induced Baryogenesis

We study a scenario for baryogenesis in modular cosmology and discuss its implications for the moduli stabilization mechanism and the supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking scale. If moduli fields dominate the Universe and decay into the standard model particles through diatonic couplings, the right amount of baryon asymmetry can be generated through CP violating decay of gluino into quark and squark followed by baryon-number violating squark decay. We find that, in the KKLT-type moduli stabilization, at least two non-perturbative terms are required to obtain a sizable CP phase, and that the successful baryogenesis is possible for the soft SUSY breaking mass heavier than O(1) TeV. A part of the parameter space for successful baryogenesis can be probed at the collider experiments, dinucleon decay search experiment, and the measurements of electric dipole moments of neutron and electron. It is also shown that similar baryogenesis works in the case of the gravitino- or the saxion-dominated Universe.

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arXiv2013

Higgs phenomenology in the Peccei-Quinn invariant NMSSM

We study the Higgs phenomenology in the Peccei-Quinn invariant NMSSM (PQ-NMSSM) where the low energy mass parameters of the singlet superfield are induced by a spontaneous breakdown of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry. In the generic NMSSM, scalar mixing among CP-even Higgs bosons is constrained by the observed properties of the SM-like Higgs boson, as well as by the LEP bound on the chargino mass and the perturbativity bound on the singlet Yukawa coupling. In the minimal PQ-NMSSM, scalar mixing is further constrained due to the presence of a light singlino-like neutralino. It is noticed that the $2σ$ excess of the LEP $Zb\bar b$ events at $m_{b\bar b}\simeq$ 98 GeV can be explained by a singlet-like 98 GeV Higgs boson in the minimal PQ-NMSSM with low $\tanβ$, stops around or below 1 TeV, and light doublet-higgsinos around the weak scale.

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arXiv2013

Suppressing Isocurvature Perturbations of QCD Axion Dark Matter

We propose a novel mechanism to suppress the isocurvature perturbations of the QCD axion. The point is that the QCD interactions become strong at an intermediate or high energy scale in the very early Universe, if the Higgs field has a sufficiently large expectation value. The effective QCD scale can be even higher in the presence of extra colored particles. We show that the QCD axion then becomes so heavy during inflation that its isocurvature perturbations are significantly suppressed, thereby relaxing the constraint on the inflation scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Axions as Hot and Cold Dark Matter

The presence of a hot dark matter component has been hinted at 3 sigma by a combination of the results from different cosmological observations. We examine a possibility that pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons account for both hot and cold dark matter components. We show that the QCD axions can do the job for the axion decay constant f_a < O(10^10) GeV, if they are produced by the saxion decay and the domain wall annihilation. We also investigate the cases of thermal QCD axions, pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons coupled to the standard model sector through the Higgs portal, and axions produced by modulus decay.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Longevity Problem of Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter

Sterile neutrino dark matter of mass O(1-10) keV decays into an active neutrino and an X-ray photon, and the non-observation of the corresponding X-ray line requires the sterile neutrino to be more long-lived than estimated based on the seesaw formula : the longevity problem. We show that, if one or more of the B-L Higgs fields are charged under a flavor symmetry (or discrete R symmetry), the split mass spectrum for the right-handed neutrinos as well as the required longevity is naturally realized. We provide several examples in which the predicted the X-ray flux is just below the current bound.

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arXiv2013

Self-interacting Dark Radiation

We consider a simple class of models where dark radiation has self-interactions and therefore does not free stream. Such dark radiation has no anisotropic stress (or viscosity), leaving a distinct signature on the CMB angular power spectrum. Specifically we study a possibility that hidden gauge bosons and/or chiral fermions account for the excess of the effective number of neutrino species. They have gauge interactions and remain light due to the unbroken hidden gauge symmetry, leading to ΔN_{\rm eff} \simeq 0.29 in some case.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Axionic Co-genesis of Baryon, Dark Matter and Dark Radiation

We argue that coherent oscillations of the axion field excited by the misalignment mechanism and non-thermal leptogenesis by the saxion decay can naturally explain the observed abundance of dark matter and baryon asymmetry, thus providing a solution to the baryon-dark matter coincidence problem. The successful axionic co-genesis requires a supersymmetry breaking scale of O(10^{6-7}) GeV, which is consistent with the recently discovered standard-model like Higgs boson of mass about 126 GeV. Although the saxion generically decays into a pair of axions, their abundance sensitively depends on the saxion stabilization mechanism as well as couplings with the Higgs field. We discuss various ways to make the saxion dominantly decay into the right-handed neutrinos rather than into axions, and show that the abundance of axion dark radiation can be naturally as small as ΔN_{\rm eff} \lesssim {\cal O}(0.1), which is allowed by the Planck data.

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