Work

Parametric-resonance production of QCD axions

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Dark matter axion production can be significantly enhanced through a generic cosmological mechanism: primordial temperature fluctuations periodically modulate the axion mass during the QCD phase transition, thereby triggering parametric resonance in axion field evolution. This interplay between the resonance and the misalignment mechanism moves the predicted axion mass window for the observed dark matter abundance to 10 − 4 − 10 − 3 eV , shifting the preferred mass to previously unexplored higher ranges.

Source: Physics Letters B

DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140680

Authors: Pirzada, Yu Gao, Qiaoli Yang

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of High Energy Physics, Jinan University

Language: English

Topic: Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China

Award: G8340143872