Abstract: In addition to spectacular signatures such as black hole superradiance and the rotation of CMB polarization, the plenitude of axions appearing in the string axiverse may have potentially dangerous implications. An example is the cosmological overproduction of relic axions and moduli by the misalignment mechanism, more pronounced in regions where the signals mentioned above may be observable, that is for large axion decay constant. In this work, we study the minimal requirements to soften this problem and show that the fundamental requirement is a long period of low-scale inflation. However, in this case, if the inflationary Hubble scale is lower than around O(100) eV, no relic DM axion is produced in the early Universe. Cosmological production of some axions may be activated, via the misalignment mechanism, if their potential minimum changes between inflation and today. As a particular example, we study in detail how the maximal-misalignment mechanism dilutes the effect of dangerous axions and allows the production of axion DM in a controlled way. In this case, the potential of the axion that realises the mechanism shifts by a factor increment theta = pi between the inflationary epoch and today, and the axion starts to oscillate from the top of its potential. We also show that axions with masses m(a) similar to O(1 – 100) H-0 realising the maximal-misalignment mechanism generically behave as dark energy with a decay constant that can take values well below the Planck scale, avoiding problems associated to super-Planckian scales. Finally, we briefly study the basic phenomenological implications of the mechanism and comment on the compatibility of this type of maximally-misaligned quintessence with the swampland criteria.

Abstract: In the present work a two-component dark matter model is studied adopting the degenerate scenario in the R-parity conserving NMSSM. The gravitino LSP and the neutralino NLSP are extremely degenerate in mass, avoiding the BBN bounds and obtaining a high reheating temperature for thermal leptogenesis. In this model both gravitino (absolutely stable) and neutralino (quasi-stable) contribute to dark matter, and direct detection searches for neutralino are discussed. Points that survive all the constraints correspond to a singlino-like neutralino.

Abstract: The top-quark FCNC processes will be searched for at the CERN LHC, which are correlated with the B-meson decays. In this paper, we study the e ff ects of top-quark anomalous interactions tq gamma in the exclusive radiative B --> K*gamma and B --> rho gamma decays. With the current experimental data of the branching ratios, the direct CP and the isospin asymmetries, bounds on the coupling kappa(gamma)(tcR) from B --> K*gamma and kappa(gamma)(tuR) from B --> rho gamma decays are derived, respectively. The bound on vertical bar kappa(gamma)(tcR)vertical bar from B (B --> K*gamma) is generally compatible with that from B (B --> X(s)gamma). However, the isospin asymmetry Delta (K*gamma) further restrict the phase of kappa(gamma)(tuR), and the combined bound results in the upper limit, B (t --> c gamma) < 0 : 21%, which is lower than the CDF result. For real kappa(gamma)(tuR), the upper bound on B (t --> c gamma) is about of the same order as the 5 sigma discovery potential of ATLAS with an integrated luminosity of 10 fb(-1). For B --> rho gamma decays, the NP contribution is enhanced by a large CKM factor vertical bar V(ud)/V(td)vertical bar, and the constraint on tu gamma coupling is rather restrictive, B (t --> u gamma) < 1 : 44 x 10(-5). With re fi ned measurements to be available at the LHCb and the future super-B factories, we can get close correlations between B --> V gamma and the rare t --> q gamma decays, which will be studied directly at the LHC ATLAS and CMS.