Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: A bstract We show that the potential of a light axion can flip sign, or even nearly vanish, as a result of coherent oscillations of a heavier axion with which it mixes. This phenomenon is analogous to the Kapitza pendulum, where a high-frequency external force stabilizes an otherwise unstable configuration, but here it arises naturally from the inherent mass hierarchy and mixing among axions in the axiverse, without the need for any externally imposed modulation. We further show that a late-time sign flip of the potential can significantly enhance the abundance of the light axion, which has important cosmological and observational consequences. Such dynamics may also be realized in multi-natural inflation, or inside oscillons and boson stars formed by a heavy axion.
Source: Journal of High Energy Physics
Authors: Kai Murai, Fuminobu Takahashi, Kosei Tomiyama
Institutions: Tohoku University, The University of Tokyo
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415087695
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