Search for ALPs in the Apennines

• Alberto Ressa

The recent years experimental efforts towards the search for axions, or Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) is justified by their incredible property of solving both the strong CP problem and the dark matter puzzle at once. The unique environment of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso offers the possibility to search for axions produced in the core of the Sun, and propagated to the Apennines, in a very low background condition. The large exposure collected by the CUORE experiment, represents an opportunity to demonstrate the potential of the cryogenic calorimeters technology on a large scale for this kind of search.

Dicussion

The Strong CP problem and Planck scale physics: a short story

• Pier Giuseppe Catinari

In this talk I will introduce the Strong CP problem both from a classical and a quantum field theoretical perspectives. The most convincing solution to this problem is in terms of a relaxation mechanism, realized by a light pseudo-Goldstone boson, the so-called Peccei-Quinn QCD axion. This solution, based on a non-linearly realized global U(1) symmetry, may be endangered by quantum gravity, i.e. from near Planck scale physics. The reason for this is that, suggested by string theory arguments, quantum gravity is commonly believed to break all the global symmetries. This is the so-called axion quality problem. Is there any way to give a precise and controllable estimate on how these gravitational effects may affect axion physics?

Discussion