Geneva University seminars

The axion vs the WIMP

by Sacha Davidson (Universite Claude Bernard-Lyon I (FR))

Europe/Zurich
Room 234 (Geneva University)

Room 234

Geneva University

24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève 4
Description
The QCD axion is a micro->milli eV boson arising in extensions of the Standard Model which solve the "strong CP problem". It is consistent with astrophysical observations of the cooling timescale of stars. Non-thermal production mechanisms in the early Universe allow the axions, despite their neutrino-scale mass, to behave like Cold Dark Matter: their energy density redshifts like matter, and their density fluctuations grow like CDM. I aim to review the above, and explore the question of how to distinguish axions from WIMPs, in particular during non-linear stucture formation. Sadly, I have not an answer.