QCD axion dark matter from a late time phase transition

Abstract

We investigate the possibility that the Peccei-Quinn phase transition occurs at a temperature far below the symmetry breaking scale. Low phase transition temperatures are typical in supersymmetric theories, where symmetry breaking fields have small masses. We find that QCD axions are abundantly produced just after the phase transition. The observed dark matter abundance is reproduced even if the decay constant is much lower than 1011 GeV. The produced axions tend to be warm. For some range of the decay constant, the effect of the predicted warmness on structure formation can be confirmed by future observations of 21 cm lines. A portion of parameter space requires a mixing between the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking field and the Standard Model Higgs, and predicts an observable rate of rare Kaon decays.