Particle physics

Axion

Quantum chromodynamics

Physics

Cold dark matter

Strong CP problem

String (physics)

Dark matter

Pure mathematics

Theoretical physics

Mathematics

Field (mathematics)

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

We evaluate the efficiency of axion production from spatially random initial conditions in the axion field, so a network of axionic strings is present. For the first time, we perform numerical simulations which fully account for the large short-distance contributions to the axionic string tension, and the resulting dense network of high-tension axionic strings. We find nevertheless that the total axion production is somewhat less efficient than in the angle-averaged misalignment case. Combining our results with a recent determination of the hot QCD topological susceptibility (Borsanyi et al 2016), we find that if the axion makes up all of the dark matter, then the axion mass is m_a = 26.2 +-3.4 micro-electron volts.

The dark-matter axion mass