An axion (ˈæksiɒn) is a hypothetical elementary particle originally postulated by the Peccei–Quinn theory in 1977 to resolve the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). If axions exist and have low mass within a specific range, they are of interest as a possible component of cold dark matter.
As shown by Gerard 't Hooft, strong interactions of the standard model, QCD, possess a non-trivial vacuum structure that in principle permits violation of the combined symmetries of charge conjugation and parity, collectively known as CP. Together with effects generated by weak interactions, the effective periodic strong CP-violating term, , appears as a Standard Model input – its value is not predicted by the theory, but must be measured. However, large CP-violating interactions originating from QCD would induce a large electric dipole moment (EDM) for the neutron. Experimental constraints on the currently unobserved EDM implies CP violation from QCD must be extremely tiny and thus must itself be extremely small. Since could have any value between 0 and 2π, this presents a "naturalness" problem for the standard model. Why should this parameter find itself so close to zero? (Or, why should QCD find itself CP-preserving?) This question constitutes what is known as the strong CP problem.
In 1977, Roberto Peccei and Helen Quinn postulated a more elegant solution to the strong CP problem, the Peccei–Quinn mechanism. The idea is to effectively promote to a field. This is accomplished by adding a new global symmetry (called a Peccei–Quinn (PQ) symmetry) that becomes spontaneously broken. This results in a new particle, as shown independently by Frank Wilczek and Steven Weinberg, that fills the role of , naturally relaxing the CP-violation parameter to zero. Wilczek named this new hypothesized particle the "axion" after a brand of laundry detergent because it "cleaned up" a problem, while Weinberg called it "the higglet." Weinberg later agreed to adopt Wilczek's name for the particle.
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Presentation of the electroweak and strong interaction theories that constitute the Standard Model of particle physics. The course also discusses the new theories proposed to solve the problems of the
This course is the basic introduction to modern cosmology. It introduces students to the main concepts and formalism of cosmology, the observational status of Hot Big Bang theory
and discusses major
Covers the Higgs mechanism, fermion masses, Yukawa couplings, and properties of the Higgs boson, concluding with a discussion on dark matter beyond the Standard Model.
In particle physics, CP violation is a violation of CP-symmetry (or charge conjugation parity symmetry): the combination of C-symmetry (charge symmetry) and P-symmetry (parity symmetry). CP-symmetry states that the laws of physics should be the same if a particle is interchanged with its antiparticle (C-symmetry) while its spatial coordinates are inverted ("mirror" or P-symmetry). The discovery of CP violation in 1964 in the decays of neutral kaons resulted in the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980 for its discoverers James Cronin and Val Fitch.
The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the Standard Model, the Higgs particle is a massive scalar boson with zero spin, even (positive) parity, no electric charge, and no colour charge that couples to (interacts with) mass. It is also very unstable, decaying into other particles almost immediately upon generation.
In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance with mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic particles, and in everyday as well as scientific usage, matter generally includes atoms and anything made up of them, and any particles (or combination of particles) that act as if they have both rest mass and volume. However it does not include massless particles such as photons, or other energy phenomena or waves such as light or heat.
We study the effects of exceptionally light QCD axions on the stellar configuration of white dwarfs. At finite baryon density, the nonderivative coupling of the axion to nucleons displaces the axion from its invacuum minimum, which implies a reduction of t ...
Amer Physical Soc2024
Delayed 'pair-echo' signal from interactions of very-high-energy gamma rays in the intergalactic medium can be used for the detection of the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF). We used the data of the Fermi/LAT telescope coupled with LHAASO observatory me ...
Edp Sciences S A2024
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The properties of stable Luttinger liquid phases in models with a nonconserved number of particles are investigated. We study the Luttinger liquid phases in one-dimensional models of hard-core boson and spinless fermion chains where particles can be create ...