The Quest for an Intermediate-Scale Accidental Axion and Further ALPs

The recent detection of the cosmic microwave background polarimeter experiment BICEP2 of tensor fluctuations in the B-mode power spectrum basically excludes all plausible axion models where its decay constant is above $10^{13}$ GeV. Moreover, there are strong theoretical, astrophysical, and cosmological motivations for models involving, in addition to the axion, also axion-like particles (ALPs), with decay constants in the intermediate scale range, between $10^9$ GeV and $10^{13}$ GeV. Here, we present a general analysis of models with an axion and further ALPs and derive bounds on the relative size of the axion and ALP photon (and electron) coupling. We discuss what we can learn from measurements of the axion and ALP photon couplings about the fundamental parameters of the underlying ultraviolet completion of the theory. For the latter we consider extensions of the Standard Model in which the axion and the ALP(s) appear as pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons from the breaking of global chiral $U(1)$ (Peccei-Quinn (PQ)) symmetries, occuring accidentally as low energy remnants from exact discrete symmetries. In such models, the axion and the further ALP are protected from disastrous explicit symmetry breaking effects due to Planck-scale suppressed operators. The scenarios considered exploit heavy right handed neutrinos getting their mass via PQ symmetry breaking and thus explain the small mass of the active neutrinos via a seesaw relation between the electroweak and an intermediate PQ symmetry breaking scale. We show some models that can accommodate simultaneously an axion dark matter candidate, an ALP explaining the anomalous transparency of the universe for $\gamma$-rays, and an ALP explaining the recently reported 3.55 keV gamma line from galaxies and clusters of galaxies, if the respective decay constants are of intermediate scale.Comment: 43pp, 4 figures. v2: version accepted for publication in JHE

Neutrino spin oscillations in gravitational fields

We study neutrino spin oscillations in gravitational fields. The quasi-classical approach is used to describe the neutrino spin evolution. First we examine the case of a weak gravitational field. We obtain the effective Hamiltonian for the description of neutrino spin oscillations. We also receive the neutrino transition probability when a particle propagates in the gravitational field of a rotating massive object. Then we apply the general technique to the description of neutrino spin oscillations in the Schwarzschild metric. The neutrino spin evolution equation for the case of the neutrino motion in the vicinity of a black hole is obtained. The effective Hamiltonian and the transition probability are also derived. We examine the neutrino oscillations process on different circular orbits and analyze the frequencies of spin transitions. The validity of the quasi-classical approach is also considered.Comment: RevTeX4, 9 pages, 1 esp figure; article was revised, some misprints were corrected, 6 references added; accepted for publication in Int.J.Mod.Phys.

Nondegenerate Fermions in the Background of the Sphaleron Barrier

We consider level crossing in the background of the sphaleron barrier for nondegenerate fermions. The mass splitting within the fermion doublets allows only for an axially symmetric ansatz for the fermion fields. In the background of the sphaleron we solve the partial differential equations for the fermion functions. We find little angular dependence for our choice of ansatz. We therefore propose a good approximate ansatz with radial functions only. We generalize this approximate ansatz with radial functions only to fermions in the background of the sphaleron barrier and argue, that it is a good approximation there, too.Comment: LATEX, 20 pages, 11 figure

The Sphaleron Barrier in the Presence of Fermions

We calculate the minimal energy path over the sphaleron barrier in the pre\-sen\-ce of fermions, assuming that the fermions of a doublet are degenerate in mass. This allows for spherically symmetric ans\"atze for the fields, when the mixing angle dependence is neglected. While light fermions have little influence on the barrier, the presence of heavy fermions ($M_F \sim$ TeV) strongly deforms the barrier, giving rise to additional sphalerons for very heavy fermions ($M_F \sim$ 10 TeV). Heavy fermions form non-topological solitons in the vacuum sector.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 18 figures in 3 seperate uuencoded postscript files THU-93/1

On the abundance of Lithium in T Coronae Borealis

We have obtained high resolution echelle spectroscopy of the recurrent nova T CrB. We find that the surface lithium abundance in T CrB is signifcantly enhanced compared to field M giants, where it is not detectable. We offer possible explanations for this in terms of either a delay in the onset of convection in the giant star, enhanced coronal activity due to star-spots or the enhancement of Li resulting from the nova explosion(s).Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure (a and b), accepted by MNRA

Instanton propagator and instanton induced processes in scalar model

The propagator in the instanton background in the $(- \lambda \phi^{4})$ scalar model in four dimensions is studied.Leading and sub-leading terms of its asymptotics for large momenta and its on-shell double residue are calculated analytically. These results are applied to the analysis of the initial-state and initial-final-state corrections and the calculation of the next-to-leading (propagator) correction to the exponent of the cross section of instanton induced multiparticle scattering processes.Comment: 44 pages, 7 postscript figures, LaTe

Schwinger Pair Production at Finite Temperature in Scalar QED

In scalar QED we study the Schwinger pair production from an initial ensemble of charged bosons when an electric field is turned on for a finite period together with or without a constant magnetic field. The scalar QED Hamiltonian depends on time through the electric field, which causes the initial ensemble of bosons to evolve out of equilibrium. Using the Liouville-von Neumann method for the density operator and quantum states for each momentum mode, we calculate the Schwinger pair-production rate at finite temperature, which is the pair-production rate from the vacuum times a thermal factor of the Bose-Einstein distribution.Comment: RevTex 10 pages, no figure; replaced by the version accepted in Phys. Rev. D; references correcte