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A<sc>bstract</sc> We present a new class of interacting dark sector models that can address the Hubble tension. Interacting dark radiation (DR) has previously been put forward as a solution to the problem, but this proposal is disfavored by the high-ℓcosmic microwave background (CMB) data. We modify this basic framework by introducing a subcomponent of dark matter (DM) that interacts strongly with the DR, so that together they constitute a tightly coupled fluid at early times. We show that if this subcomponent decouples from the interacting DR during the CMB epoch, theℓmodes of the CMB that entered the horizon before decoupling are impacted differently from those that entered after, allowing a solution to the problem. We present a model that realizes this framework, which we dub “New Atomic Dark Matter”, or nuADaM, in which the interacting dark matter (iDM) subcomponent is composed of dark atoms, and dark “neutrinos” with long-range interactions contribute to the DR, hence the name of the model. This iDM subcomponent is acoustic at early times but decouples from the DR following dark recombination. In contrast to conventional atomic dark matter (ADM) models, the dark photon is part of a richer DR sector, which ensures that it continues to be self-interacting even after recombination. We show that this model admits a significantly larger value ofH₀than ΛCDM when fit to CMB and BAO data, while maintaining a comparable goodness of fit. Once the SHOES data set is included, it provides a significantly better fit than ΛCDM. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> We introduce a mechanism by which a misaligned ALP can be dynamically converted into a dark photon in the presence of a background magnetic field. An abundance of non-relativistic ALPs will convert to dark photons with momentum of order the inhomogeneities in the background field; therefore a highly homogeneous field will produce non-relativistic dark photons without relying on any redshifting of their momenta. Taking hidden sector magnetic fields produced by a first order phase transition, the mechanism can reproduce the relic abundance of dark matter for a wide range of dark photon masses down to 10⁻¹³eV. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> The presence of a plethora of light spin 0 and spin 1 fields is motivated in a number of BSM scenarios, such as the axiverse. The study of the interactions of such light bosonic fields with the Standard Model has focused mostly on interactions involving only one such field, such as the axion (ϕ) coupling to photons,$$\phi F\widetilde{F}$$, or the kinetic mixing between photon and the dark photon,FF_D. In this work, we continue the exploration of interactions involving two light BSM fields and the standard model, focusing on the mixed axion-photon-dark-photon interaction$$\phi F{\widetilde{F}}_{D}$$. If either the axion or dark photon are dark matter, we show that this interaction leads to conversion of the CMB photons into a dark sector particle, leading to a distortion in the CMB spectrum. We present the details of these unique distortion signatures and the resulting constraints on the$$\phi F{\widetilde{F}}_{D}$$coupling. In particular, we find that for a wide range of masses, the constraints from these effect are stronger than on the more widely studied axion-photon coupling. 

We generalize the recently proposed Stepped Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (SPartAcous) model by including additional massless degrees of freedom in the dark radiation sector. We fit SPartAcous and its generalization against cosmological precision data from the cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations, large-scale structure, supernovae type Ia, and Cepheid variables. We find that SPartAcous significantly reduces the H0 tension but does not provide any meaningful improvement of the S8 tension, while the generalized model succeeds in addressing both tensions, and provides a better fit than ΛCDM and other dark sector models proposed to address the same tensions. In the generalized model, H0 can be raised to 71.4 km/s/Mpc (the 95% upper limit), reducing the tension, if the fitted data does not include the direct measurement from the SH0ES collaboration, and to 73.7 km/s/Mpc (95% upper limit) if it does. A version of CLASS that has been modified to analyze this model is publicly available at https://github.com/ManuelBuenAbad/class_spartacous. 

Abstract We generalize the recently proposed Stepped Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (SPartAcous) model by including additional massless degrees of freedom in the dark radiation sector. We fit SPartAcous and its generalization against cosmological precision data from the cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations, large-scale structure, supernovae type Ia, and Cepheid variables. We find that SPartAcous significantly reduces theH₀tension but does not provide any meaningful improvement of theS₈tension, while the generalized model succeeds in addressing both tensions, and provides a better fit than ΛCDM and other dark sector models proposed to address the same tensions. In the generalized model,H₀can be raised to 71.4 km/s/Mpc (the 95% upper limit), reducing the tension, if the fitted data does not include the direct measurement from the SH0ES collaboration, and to 73.7 km/s/Mpc (95% upper limit) if it does. A version ofCLASSthat has been modified to analyze this model is publicly available athttps://github.com/ManuelBuenAbad/class_spartacous. 

A bstract We propose a new interacting dark sector model, Stepped Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (SPartAcous), that can simultaneously address the two most important tensions in current cosmological data, the H 0 and S 8 problems. As in the Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (PAcDM) scenario, this model features a subcomponent of dark matter that interacts with dark radiation at high temperatures, suppressing the growth of structure at small scales and thereby addressing the S 8 problem. However, in the SPartAcous model, the dark radiation includes a component with a light mass that becomes non-relativistic close to the time of matter-radiation equality. As this light component annihilates away, the remaining dark radiation heats up and its interactions with dark matter decouple. The heating up of the dark sector results in a step-like increase in the relative energy density in dark radiation, significantly reducing the H 0 tension, while the decoupling of dark matter and dark radiation ensures that the power spectrum at larger scales is identical to ΛCDM. 

We propose a new interacting dark sector model, Stepped Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (SPartAcous), that can simultaneously address the two most important tensions in current cosmological data, the H0 and S8 problems. As in the Partially Acoustic Dark Matter (PAcDM) scenario, this model features a subcomponent of dark matter that interacts with dark radiation at high temperatures, suppressing the growth of structure at small scales and thereby addressing the S8 problem. However, in the SPartAcous model, the dark radiation includes a component with a light mass that becomes non-relativistic close to the time of matter-radiation equality. As this light component annihilates away, the remaining dark radiation heats up and its interactions with dark matter decouple. The heating up of the dark sector results in a step-like increase in the relative energy density in dark radiation, significantly reducing the H0 tension, while the decoupling of dark matter and dark radiation ensures that the power spectrum at larger scales is identical to ΛCDM. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> The causal tail of stochastic gravitational waves can be used to probe the energy density in free streaming relativistic species as well as measureg_*(T) and beta functionsβ(T) as a function of temperature. In the event of the discovery of loud stochastic gravitational waves, we demonstrate that LISA can measure the free streaming fraction of the universe down to the the 10⁻³level, 100 times more sensitive than current constraints. Additionally, it would be sensitive to$$ \mathcal{O} $$ $O$(1) deviations ofg_*and the QCDβfunction from their Standard Model value at temperatures ~ 10⁵GeV. In this case, many motivated models such as split SUSY and other solutions to the Electroweak Hierarchy problem would be tested. Future detectors, such as DECIGO, would be 100 times more sensitive than LISA to these effects and be capable of testing other motivated scenarios such as WIMPs and axions. The amazing prospect of using precision gravitational wave measurements to test such well motivated theories provides a benchmark to aim for when developing a precise understanding of the gravitational wave spectrum both experimentally and theoretically.