arXiv subjects

Peizhi Du

Publications and source records attributed to Peizhi Du.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Isocurvature Induced Gravitational Waves at Pulsar Timing Arrays

Gravitational waves (GWs) are powerful probes of new physics in the early Universe. In particular, GWs induced by primordial isocurvature perturbations encode information of novel dynamics beyond the standard $Λ$CDM model. Existing studies of isocurvature induced GWs focus on a particular type: cold dark matter (CDM) isocurvature. In this work, we present a more comprehensive study of four kinds of isocurvature involving CDM, baryons, neutrinos and free-streaming dark radiation (DR). We first reformulate initial conditions of isocurvature with coupled neutrinos because modes relevant for observations at Pulsar Timing Arrays enter the horizon before neutrino decoupling. With these new initial conditions, neutrino isocurvature is phenomenologically similar to CDM isocurvature up to an overall coefficient, which leads to an interesting conversion of isocurvature between radiation and matter sectors. We then find that the spectrum of isocurvature induced GWs from free-streaming DR is qualitatively different than that from CDM due to the presence of anisotropic stress. Unlike GWs induced by CDM isocurvature that are suppressed at high frequencies due to matter density being suppressed at early times, DR isocurvature induced GWs is proportional to the constant ratio between DR density and total radiation. Finally, we utilize two general parametrizations of the isocurvature power spectrum: a delta function and a broken power law, and derive novel constraints with recent NANOGrav data. Our results set stringent constraints on isocurvature around $10^{6}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, which are complementary to cosmological observations at large scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Cosmological Constraints on Secluded Dark Radiation

Dark radiation (DR) is ubiquitous in physics beyond the Standard Model (SM), and its interactions with the SM and dark matter (DM) lead to a variety of interesting effects on cosmological observables. However, even in scenarios where DR is 'secluded', i.e., only gravitationally interacting with SM and DM, it can leave discernible signatures. We present a comprehensive study of four different types of DR: free-streaming, self-interacting (coupled), decoupling, and recoupling DR, and vary initial conditions to include both adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations. In addition to these properties, we also vary neutrino energy density, DR energy density, and the SM neutrino masses to perform a general analysis and study degeneracies among neutrino and DR properties. We derive constraints using the cosmic microwave background, large-scale structure, and supernova datasets. We find no significant preference for physics beyond the $Λ$CDM model, but data exhibit interesting interplays between different physical quantities. When the neutrino energy density is allowed to vary, we find that the cosmological dataset prefers massless free-streaming DR over massive neutrinos, leading to a significant relaxation of the neutrino mass bound. Although we do not find any evidence of DR isocurvature, the data show support for a strong blue tilt of the isocurvature power spectrum. Our analysis also highlights the degeneracy of various DR parameters with the Hubble constant $H_0$ resulting in a mild relaxation of the $H_0$ tension.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

General Constraints on Isocurvature from the CMB and Ly-$α$ Forest

Current cosmological data are well-described by the Lambda-Cold Dark Matter ($Λ$CDM) model, which assumes adiabatic initial conditions for the primordial density perturbations. This agreement between data and theory enables strong constraints on new physics that generates isocurvature perturbations. Existing constraints typically assume a simple power law form for the isocurvature power spectrum. However, many new physics scenarios -- such as cosmological phase transitions and gravitational particle production -- can deviate from this assumption. To derive general constraints which apply to a wide variety of new physics scenarios, we consider four types of isocurvature modes (dark matter, baryon, dark radiation and neutrino density isocurvature) and parametrize the isocurvature power spectrum using two general forms: a delta function and a broken power law. Using data from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), baryon acoustic oscillations, the Lyman-$α$ forest, and CMB spectral distortions, we place constraints on the isocurvature power spectrum across a wide range of scales, from $10^{-4}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ to $10^{4}\,\textrm{Mpc}^{-1}$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Conformal Leptogenesis in Composite Higgs Models

We study the generation of the baryon asymmetry in Composite Higgs models with partial compositeness of the Standard Model (SM) fermions and heavy right-handed neutrinos, developing for the first time a complete picture of leptogenesis in that setup. The asymmetry is induced by the out of equilibrium decays of the heavy right-handed neutrinos into a plasma of the nearly conformal field theory (CFT), i.e. the deconfined phase of the Composite Higgs dynamics. This exotic mechanism, which we call Conformal Leptogenesis, admits a reliable description in terms of a set of ``Boltzmann equations'' whose coefficients can be expressed in terms of correlation functions of the CFT. The asymmetry thus generated is subsequently affected by the supercooling resulting from the confining phase transition of the strong Higgs sector as well as by the washout induced by the resonances formed after the transition. Nevertheless, a qualitative description of the latter effects suggests that conformal leptogenesis can successfully reproduce the observed baryon asymmetry in a wide region of parameter space. A distinctive signature of our scenarios is a sizable compositeness for all the generations of SM neutrinos, which is currently consistent with all constraints but may be within reach of future colliders.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Constraints on Strongly-Interacting Dark Matter from the James Webb Space Telescope

Direct-detection searches for dark matter are insensitive to dark matter particles that have large interactions with ordinary matter, which are stopped in the atmosphere or the Earth's crust before reaching terrestrial detectors. We use ``dark'' calibration images taken with the HgCdTe detectors in the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to derive novel constraints on sub-GeV dark matter candidates that scatter off electrons. We supplement the JWST analysis pipeline with additional masks to remove pixels with high-energy background events. For a 0.4% subcomponent of dark matter that interacts with an ultralight dark photon, we disfavor all previously allowed parameter space at high cross sections, and constrain some parameter regions for subcomponent fractions as low as $\sim$0.01%.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Dual-sided Charge-Coupled Devices

Existing Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) operate by detecting either the electrons or holes created in an ionization event. We propose a new type of imager, the Dual-Sided CCD, which collects and measures both charge carriers on opposite sides of the device via a novel dual-buried channel architecture. We show that this dual detection strategy provides exceptional dark-count rejection and enhanced timing capabilities. These advancements have wide-ranging implications for dark-matter searches, near-IR/optical spectroscopy, and time-domain X-ray astrophysics.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Dark Radiation Isocurvature from Cosmological Phase Transitions

Cosmological first order phase transitions are typically associated with physics beyond the Standard Model, and thus of great theoretical and observational interest. Models of phase transitions where the energy is mostly converted to dark radiation can be constrained through limits on the dark radiation energy density (parameterized by $ΔN_{\rm eff}$). However, the current constraint ($ΔN_{\rm eff} < 0.3$) assumes the perturbations are adiabatic. We point out that a broad class of non-thermal first order phase transitions that start during inflation but do not complete until after reheating leave a distinct imprint in the scalar field from bubble nucleation. Dark radiation inherits the perturbation from the scalar field when the phase transition completes, leading to large-scale isocurvature that would be observable in the CMB. We perform a detailed calculation of the isocurvature power spectrum and derive constraints on $ΔN_{\rm eff}$ based on CMB+BAO data. For a reheating temperature of $T_{\rm rh}$ and a nucleation temperature $T_*$, the constraint is approximately $ΔN_{\rm eff}\lesssim 10^{-5} (T_*/T_{\rm rh})^{-4}$, which can be much stronger than the adiabatic result. We also point out that since perturbations of dark radiation have a non-Gaussian origin, searches for non-Gaussianity in the CMB could place a stringent bound on $ΔN_{\rm eff}$ as well.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Synergy between cosmological and laboratory searches in neutrino physics

The intersection of the cosmic and neutrino frontiers is a rich field where much discovery space still remains. Neutrinos play a pivotal role in the hot big bang cosmology, influencing the dynamics of the universe over numerous decades in cosmological history. Recent studies have made tremendous progress in understanding some properties of cosmological neutrinos, primarily their energy density. Upcoming cosmological probes will measure the energy density of relativistic particles with higher precision, but could also start probing other properties of the neutrino spectra. When convolved with results from terrestrial experiments, cosmology can become even more acute at probing new physics related to neutrinos or even Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Any discordance between laboratory and cosmological data sets may reveal new BSM physics and/or suggest alternative models of cosmology. We give examples of the intersection between terrestrial and cosmological probes in the neutrino sector, and briefly discuss the possibilities of what different laboratory experiments may see in conjunction with cosmological observatories.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Low-Energy Radiative Backgrounds in CCD-Based Dark-Matter Detectors

The reach of sub-GeV dark-matter detectors is at present severely affected by low-energy events from various origins. We present the theoretical methods to compute the single- and few-electron events that arise from secondary radiation emitted by high-energy particles passing through detector materials and perform simulations to quantify them at (Skipper) CCD-based experiments, focusing on the SENSEI data collected in the MINOS cavern at Fermilab. The simulations account for the generation of secondaries from Cherenkov and luminescent recombination; photo-absorption, reflection, refraction and thin-film interference in detector materials; roughness of the interfaces and the dynamics of charges and partial charge collection (PCC) in the doped CCD-backside. We consider several systematic uncertainties, notably those stemming from the backside charge-diffusion modeling, which we estimate with a "fiducial'' and an "extreme'' model, with the former model presenting better agreement with PCC data. We find that Cherenkov photons constitute about 40% of the observed single-electron events for both models; radiative recombination rates are negligible for the fiducial model, but can dominate over the Cherenkov rates for the extreme model. We also estimate the fraction of 2-electron events from 1-electron event same-pixel coincidences, finding that the entire 2-electron rate can be explained by coincidences of radiative events and spurious charge. Accounting for backgrounds, we project the sensitivity of future Skipper-CCD-based experiments to different dark-matter models. For light-mediator models with dark-matter masses of 1, 5, and 10 MeV, we find that future experiments with 10-kg-year exposures and successful background mitigation could have a sensitivity that is larger by 9, 3, and 2 orders of magnitude, respectively, when compared to an experiment without background improvements. (abridged)

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Confronting interacting dark radiation scenarios with cosmological data

Dark radiation (DR) is generally predicted in new physics scenarios that address fundamental puzzles of the Standard Model or tensions in the cosmological data. Cosmological data has the sensitivity to constrain not only the energy density of DR, but also whether it is interacting. In this paper, we present a systematic study of five types of interacting DR (free-streaming, fluid, decoupling, instantaneous decoupling, and recoupling DR) and their impact on cosmological observables. We modify the Boltzmann hierarchy to describe all these types of interacting DR under the relaxation time approximation. We, for the first time, robustly calculate the collision terms for recoupling scalar DR and provide a better estimation of the recoupling transition redshift. We demonstrate the distinct features of each type of DR on the CMB and matter power spectra. We perform MCMC scans using the Planck 2018 data and BAO data. Assuming no new physics in the SM neutrino sector, we find no statistically significant constraints on the couplings of DR, although there is a slight preference for the fluid-like limit of all the cases. In the case of instantaneous decoupling DR, this limit corresponds to a late transition redshift around recombination. The $ΔN_{\rm eff}$ constraint varies marginally depending on the type of DR.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Doped Semiconductor Devices for sub-MeV Dark Matter Detection

Dopant atoms in semiconductors can be ionized with $\sim10$ meV energy depositions, allowing for the design of low-threshold detectors. We propose using doped semiconductor targets to search for sub-MeV dark matter scattering or sub-eV dark matter absorption on electrons. Currently unconstrained cross sections could be tested with a 1 g-day exposure in a doped detector with backgrounds at the level of existing pure semiconductor detectors, but improvements would be needed to probe the freeze-in target. We discuss the corresponding technological requirements and lay out a possible detector design.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Snowmass Theory Frontier: Astrophysics and Cosmology

We summarize progress made in theoretical astrophysics and cosmology over the past decade and areas of interest for the coming decade. This Report is prepared as the TF09 "Astrophysics and Cosmology" topical group summary for the Theory Frontier as part of the Snowmass 2021 process.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Improved cosmological constraints on the neutrino mass and lifetime

We present cosmological constraints on the sum of neutrino masses as a function of the neutrino lifetime, in a framework in which neutrinos decay into dark radiation after becoming non-relativistic. We find that in this regime the cosmic microwave background (CMB), baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) and (uncalibrated) luminosity distance to supernovae from the Pantheon catalog constrain the sum of neutrino masses $\sum m_ν$ to obey $\sum m_ν< 0.42$ eV at (95$\%$ C.L.). While the the bound has improved significantly as compared to the limits on the same scenario from Planck 2015, it still represents a significant relaxation of the constraints as compared to the stable neutrino case. We show that most of the improvement can be traced to the more precise measurements of low-$\ell$ polarization data in Planck 2018, which leads to tighter constraints on $τ_{\rm reio}$ (and thereby on $A_s$), breaking the degeneracy arising from the effect of (large) neutrino masses on the amplitude of the CMB power spectrum.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Constraining decaying dark matter with BOSS data and the effective field theory of large-scale structures

We update cosmological constraints on two decaying dark matter models in light of BOSS-DR12 data analyzed under the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structures (EFTofLSS) formalism, together with Planck, Pantheon and other BOSS measurements of the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO). In the first model, a fraction $f_{\rm dcdm}$ of cold dark matter (CDM) decays into dark radiation (DR) with a lifetime $τ$. In the second model (recently suggested as a potential resolution to the $S_8$ tension), all the CDM decays with a lifetime $τ$ into DR and a massive warm dark matter (WDM) particle, with a fraction $\varepsilon$ of the CDM rest mass energy transferred to the DR. Using numerical codes from the recent literature, we perform the first calculation of the mildly non-linear (matter and galaxy) power spectra with the EFTofLSS for these two models. In the case of DR products, we obtain the constraints $f_{\rm dcdm}\lesssim0.022$ (95\% C.L.) for lifetimes shorter than the age of the universe, and $τ/f_{\rm dcdm} \gtrsim 250$ Gyr in the long-lived regime assuming $f_{\rm dcdm}\to1$. We show that Planck data contributes the most to these constraints, with EFTofBOSS providing a marginal improvement over conventional BAO and redshift space distortions ($fσ_8$) data. In the case of DR and WDM decay products, we find that EFTofBOSS data significantly improves the constraints at 68\% C.L. on the CDM lifetime with a $S_8$ prior from KiDS-1000. We show that, in order to fit EFTofBOSS data while lowering $S_8$ to match KiDS-1000, the best-fit model has a longer lifetime $τ= 120$ Gyr, with a larger kick velocity $v_{\rm kick}/c \simeq \varepsilon \simeq 1.2\%$, than that without EFTofBOSS ($τ= 43$ Gyr, $\varepsilon =0.6\%$). We anticipate that future surveys will provide exquisite constraints on such models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Snowmass2021 White Paper: Collider Physics Opportunities of Extended Warped Extra-Dimensional Models

While the warped extra-dimensional models provide an attractive solution to both the gauge and the flavor hierarchy problems, the mass scale of new particles predicted by the minimal models would be beyond the reach of the LHC. Models of extended warped extra dimensions have been proposed to evade these issues and their collider implications have been investigated for the last decade. This white paper summarizes the recent developments in the context of collider phenomenology. The strategies and lessons are broad, and provide a template to extend the experimental program, to cover a wider class of signals in other new physics scenarios as well.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

The Physics of Light Relics

Many well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of new light species that may have been produced in the early universe. Prominent examples include axions, sterile neutrinos, gravitinos, dark photons, and more. The gravitational influence of light relics leaves imprints in the cosmic microwave background fluctuations, the large-scale structure of the universe and the primordial element abundances. In this paper, we detail the physics of cosmological light relics, and describe how measurements of their relic density and mass serve as probes of physics beyond the Standard Model. A measurement of the light relic density at the precision of upcoming cosmological surveys will point the way toward new physics or severely constrain the range of viable extensions to the Standard Model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Sources of Low-Energy Events in Low-Threshold Dark Matter and Neutrino Detectors

We discuss several low-energy backgrounds to sub-GeV dark matter searches, which arise from high-energy particles of cosmic or radioactive origin that interact with detector materials. We focus in particular on Cherenkov radiation, transition radiation, and luminescence or phonons from electron-hole pair recombination, and show that these processes are an important source of backgrounds at both current and planned detectors. We perform detailed analyses of these backgrounds at several existing and proposed experiments based on a wide variety of detection strategies and levels of shielding. We find that a large fraction of the observed single-electron events in the SENSEI 2020 run originate from Cherenkov photons generated by high-energy events in the Skipper Charge Coupled Device, and from recombination photons generated in a phosphorus-doped layer of the same instrument. In a SuperCDMS HVeV 2020 run, Cherenkov photons produced in printed-circuit-boards located near the sensor likely explain the origin of most of the events containing 2 to 6 electrons. At SuperCDMS SNOLAB, radioactive contaminants inside the Cirlex located inside or on the copper side walls of their detectors will produce many Cherenkov photons, which could dominate the low-energy backgrounds. For the EDELWEISS experiment, Cherenkov or luminescence backgrounds are subdominant to their observed event rate, but could still limit the sensitivity of their future searches. We also point out that Cherenkov radiation, transition radiation, and recombination could be a significant source of backgrounds at future experiments aiming to detect dark-matter via scintillation or phonon signals. We also discuss the implications of our results for the development of superconducting qubits and low-threshold searches for coherent neutrino scattering, and comment on design strategies that can be implemented to mitigate these backgrounds.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Searching for Ultra-light Bosons and Constraining Black Hole Spin Distributions with Stellar Tidal Disruption Events

Stars that pass close to the supermassive black holes located in the center of galaxies can be violently disrupted by tidal forces, leading to flares that are observed as bright transient events in sky surveys. The rate for these events to occur depends on the black hole spins, which in turn can be affected by ultra-light bosons due to superradiance. We perform a detailed analysis of these effects and show that searches for stellar tidal disruptions have a significant potential to uncover the existence of ultra-light bosons. In particular, we find that upcoming stellar tidal disruption rate measurements by the Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time can be used to either discover or rule out bosons with masses ranging from $10^{-20}$ to $10^{-18}$ eV. Our analysis also indicates that these measurements may be used to constrain a variety of supermassive black hole spin distributions and determine if close-to maximal spins are preferred.

hep-ph↗