Dark matter, baryogenesis and inflation in BSM particle theories

The project will investigate new developments in particle theory to determine their impact on cosmology, with particular focus on their compatibility with inflation and their consequences for observables including the dark matter and baryon densities. The initial project will focus on axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) extensions of the Standard Model. It will investigate the metastability of the Standard Model Higgs potential in the context of a minimal KSVZ axion model. It will also investigate the evolution of the Higgs-axion system during and after inflation. The project will later move on to investigate the cosmology of other ALP and BSM particle theories.