eprintid: 28671
rev_number: 19
eprint_status: archive
userid: 5299
dir: disk0/00/02/86/71
datestamp: 2020-07-24 11:00:17
lastmod: 2020-08-21 10:43:16
status_changed: 2020-07-24 11:00:17
type: doctoralThesis
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Alonso Alvarez, Gonzalo
title: Axions and other light dark matter candidates
subjects: ddc-500
subjects: ddc-520
subjects: ddc-530
divisions: i-130300
adv_faculty: af-13
keywords: particle physics, cosmology, dark matter, axions
abstract: Unveiling the mystery of dark matter is one of the most sought-after goals of modern physics. Working towards this aim, this thesis explores new links between the possibility that dark matter is made up of light scalar particles and other open questions in particle physics and cosmology. In the first part of the thesis, scenarios in which the dark matter contains a particle-antiparticle asymmetry are considered. As an example, the production of such an asymmetry in a model of scalar dark matter is studied. Furthermore, a setup is presented where baryogenesis and asymmetric dark matter have a common origin linked to the dynamics of neutral B mesons. In the second part, the emphasis is put on axions. After assuring the cosmological stability of general axion-like particles, a non-canonical kinetic term is introduced, which leads to an enhanced production of this kind of dark matter. Finally, the collider phenomenology of axions and their coupling to electroweak gauge bosons is scrutinized. The third and final part is devoted to the production of light bosons during inflation. A non-minimal coupling to gravity leads to rich inflationary dynamics and precise predictions regarding the properties of the sub-galactic distribution of dark matter.
date: 2020
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00028671
ppn_swb: 1727599829
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-286716
date_accepted: 2020-07-20
advisor: HASH(0x55fc36ca2fb8)
language: eng
bibsort: ALONSOALVAAXIONSANDO2020
full_text_status: public
place_of_pub: Heidelberg
citation:   Alonso Alvarez, Gonzalo  (2020) Axions and other light dark matter candidates.  [Dissertation]     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/28671/7/Dissertation_Gonzalo_Alonso_Alvarez.pdf