Search results for "Axion"
showing 10 items of 121 documents
Hints of an axion-like particle mixing in the GeV gamma-ray blazar data?
2013
Axion-Like Particles (ALPs), if exist in nature, are expected to mix with photons in the presence of an external magnetic field. The energy range of photons which undergo strong mixing with ALPs depends on the ALP mass, on its coupling with photons as well as on the external magnetic field and particle density configurations. Recent observations of blazars by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in the 0.1-300 GeV energy range show a break in their spectra in the 1-10 GeV range. We have modeled this spectral feature for the flat-spectrum radio quasar 3C454.3 during its November 2010 outburst, assuming that a significant fraction of the gamma rays convert to ALPs in the large scale jet of thi…
Dark radiation sterile neutrino candidates after Planck data
2013
Recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) results from the Planck satellite, combined with previous CMB data and Hubble constant measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope, provide a constraint on the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom 3.62(-0.48)(+0.50) at 95% CL. New Planck data provide a unique opportunity to place limits on models containing relativistic species at the decoupling epoch. We present here the bounds on sterile neutrino models combining Planck data with galaxy clustering information. Assuming N-eff active plus sterile massive neutrino species, in the case of a Planck+WP+HighL+HST analysis we find m(nu,sterile)(eff) < 0.36 eV and 3.14 < N-eff < 4.15 at 95% …
Constraints on the Coupling between Axionlike Dark Matter and Photons Using an Antiproton Superconducting Tuned Detection Circuit in a Cryogenic Penn…
2021
We constrain the coupling between axionlike particles (ALPs) and photons, measured with the superconducting resonant detection circuit of a cryogenic Penning trap. By searching the noise spectrum of our fixed-frequency resonant circuit for peaks caused by dark matter ALPs converting into photons in the strong magnetic field of the Penning-trap magnet, we are able to constrain the coupling of ALPs with masses around $2.7906-2.7914\,\textrm{neV/c}^2$ to $g_{a\gamma}< 1 \times 10^{-11}\,\textrm{GeV}^{-1}$. This is more than one order of magnitude lower than the best laboratory haloscope and approximately 5 times lower than the CERN axion solar telescope (CAST), setting limits in a mass and cou…
PBH assisted search for QCD axion dark matter
2022
The entropy production prior to BBN era is one of ways to prevent QCD axion with the decay constant $F_{a}\in[10^{12}{\rm GeV},10^{16}{\rm GeV}]$ from overclosing the universe when the misalignment angle is $\theta_{\rm i}=\mathcal{O}(1)$. As such, it is necessarily accompanied by an early matter-dominated era (EMD) provided the entropy production is achieved via the decay of a heavy particle. In this work, we consider the possibility of formation of primordial black holes during the EMD era with the assumption of the enhanced primordial scalar perturbation on small scales ($k>10^{4}{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$). In such a scenario, it is expected that PBHs with axion halo accretion develop to ultracomp…
Femtolensing by dark matter revisited
2018
Femtolensing of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) has been put forward as an exciting possibility to probe exotic astrophysical objects with masses below $10^{-13}$ solar masses such as small primordial black holes or ultra-compact dark matter minihalos, made up for instance of QCD axions. In this paper we critically review this idea, properly taking into account the extended nature of the source as well as wave optics effects. We demonstrate that most GRBs are inappropriate for femtolensing searches due to their large sizes. This removes the previous femtolensing bounds on primordial black holes, implying that vast regions of parameter space for primordial black hole dark matter are not robustly con…
High magnetic fields for fundamental physics
2018
Various fundamental-physics experiments such as measurement of the birefringence of the vacuum, searches for ultralight dark matter (e.g., axions), and precision spectroscopy of complex systems (including exotic atoms containing antimatter constituents) are enabled by high-field magnets. We give an overview of current and future experiments and discuss the state-of-the-art DC- and pulsed-magnet technologies and prospects for future developments.
Searching for axion stars and $Q$-balls with a terrestrial magnetometer network
2018
Light (pseudo-)scalar fields are promising candidates to be the dark matter in the Universe. Under certain initial conditions in the early Universe and/or with certain types of self-interactions, they can form compact dark-matter objects such as axion stars or Q-balls. Direct encounters with such objects can be searched for by using a global network of atomic magnetometers. It is shown that for a range of masses and radii not ruled out by existing observations, the terrestrial encounter rate with axion stars or Q-balls can be sufficiently high (at least once per year) for a detection. Furthermore, it is shown that a global network of atomic magnetometers is sufficiently sensitive to pseudos…
Can QCD Axion Stars explain Subaru HSC microlensing?
2021
A non-negligible fraction of the QCD axion dark matter may form gravitationally bound Bose Einstein condensates, which are commonly known as axion stars or axion clumps. Such astrophysical objects have been recently proposed as the cause for the single candidate event reported by Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) microlensing search in the Andromeda galaxy. Depending on the breaking scale of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry and the details of the dark matter scenario, QCD axion clumps may form via gravitational condensation during radiation domination, in the dense core of axion miniclusters, or within axion minihalos around primordial black holes. We analyze all these scenarios and conclude that the…
Interference-assisted resonant detection of axions
2018
Detection schemes for the quantum chromodynamics axions and other axion-like particles in light-shining-through-a-wall (LSW) experiments are based on the conversion of these particles into photons in a magnetic field. An alternative scheme may involve the detection via a resonant atomic or molecular transition induced by resonant axion absorption. The signal obtained in this process is second order in the axion-electron interaction constant but may become first order if we allow interference between the axion-induced transition amplitude and the transition amplitude induced by the electromagnetic radiation that produces the axions.
Axion star nucleation in dark minihalos around primordial black holes
2020
We consider a general class of axion models, including the QCD and string axion, in which the PQ symmetry is broken before or during inflation. Assuming the axion is the dominant component of the dark matter, we discuss axion star formation in virialized dark minihalos around primordial black holes through gravitational Bose-Einstein condensation. We determine the conditions for minihalos to kinetically produce axion stars before galaxy formation. Today, we expect up to $\sim 10^{17}$ ($\sim 10^9$) axion stars in a radius of 100 parsecs around the Sun for the case of the QCD (string) axion.