Axion misalignment as a synchronization phenomenon

TL;DR

This paper reinterprets axion misalignment as a collective synchronization phenomenon, showing that the axion phase emerges dynamically from incoherent initial states through phase ordering in the early Universe.

Contribution

It introduces a novel dynamical framework linking axion misalignment to synchronization phenomena, providing a new perspective on initial conditions and phase coherence in cosmology.

Findings

Axion phase coherence can develop dynamically from incoherent states.

The collective axion phase is selected prior to oscillations.

This approach offers a new interpretation of initial-condition sensitivity and anthropic arguments.

Abstract

We propose a dynamical reinterpretation of axion misalignment as an emergent collective phenomenon. Drawing an explicit parallel between axion field dynamics and synchronization in coupled oscillator systems, we show that a macroscopic axion phase can arise dynamically from initially incoherent configurations through gradient-driven ordering in an expanding Universe. In this framework, the misalignment angle is not a fundamental initial condition but a collective variable that becomes well defined only once phase coherence develops. Using a simple lattice model, we illustrate how the collective phase is selected prior to the onset of axion oscillations, providing a dynamical basis for the standard misalignment picture. This perspective offers a new way of organizing axion initial-condition sensitivity, reframes anthropic small-angle arguments in terms of phase-ordering efficiency, and suggests a broader connection between fine-tuning and emergent collective dynamics in the early Universe.