Title: “Axions in QFT and Quantum Gravity”

Abstract: The QCD axion is well-studied as a solution to the Strong CP problem and a dark matter candidate. At the same time, one often hears that axions are ubiquitous in top-down string theory models of particle physics. I will discuss some recent developments in our understanding of generalized global symmetries in quantum field theory, and their absence in quantum gravity, in terms of implications for axion physics. In particular, I will provide a viewpoint on why axions are ubiquitous, and what we might expect the QCD axion’s properties to be.

https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/94928022788?pwd=emVQWG1mTnhSbHVqekVuenk0VEVQZz09