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Description
The striking absence of parity violations in the strong interactions lead R. Pecei and H. Quinn in the late 70’s to postulate a simple extension of the standard model of particle physics that suppresses these effects dynamically. The most relevant prediction of this mechanism is the existence of a new particle, the axion, that would have a very small mass and extremely weak interactions.
Axions were immediately recognised as cold dark matter candidates and searched by dedicated experiments.
After a relatively sterile period in axion physics, the last 10 years have witnessed a boom of renewed interest and new ideas to continue the experimental search and their cosmological implications. In this colloquium I will review the theoretical appeal and the experimental efforts and new concepts that are shaping the truly fascinating quest for axions. (host:Manuel Meyer)