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17 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

X-ray polarization signals from magnetars with axion-like-particles

Axion-like-particles (ALPs) produced in the core of a magnetar can convert to photons in the magnetosphere, giving rise to novel features in the X-ray spectrum. Since ALPs only mix with the parallel mode of the photon, the polarization of the soft and hard X-ray spectra is predicted to have an O-mode component, in addition to the mainly X-mode component given by most astrophysical models. The relative strength of the O-mode component depends on the intensity of ALPs produced in the core and the probability of conversion. We quantify our results by considering X-ray emission produced both by astrophysical processes and by ALP-photon conversion, in an uncorrelated fashion, and in different relative proportions, which we parametrize by the angle χ o . We then define a normalized astrophysics-subtracted Stokes parameter R which only acquires non-zero values in the presence of ALP-photon conversion. We find, remarkably, that the parameter R factorizes into a product of the ALP-to-photon conversion probability and cos(2χ o ) and display R, as well as the usual Stokes parameter Q, as a function of the photon energy and relative fractions of ALP and photon intensities. For benchmark points currently allowed by the CAST experiment, the O-mode prediction can be tested in future X-ray polarimeters and used either to constrain ALPs or find evidence for them.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

PASSAT: particle accelerator helioScopes for Slim Axion-like-particle deTection

We propose a novel method to search for axion-like particles (ALPs) at particle accelerator experiments. ALPs produced at the target via the Primakoff effect subsequently enter a region with a magnetic field, where they are converted to photons that are then detected. Dubbed Particle Accelerator helioScopes for Slim Axion-like-particle deTection (PASSAT), our proposal uses the principle of the axion helioscope but replaces ALPs produced in the Sun with those produced in a target material. Since we rely on ALP-photon conversions , our proposal probes light (slim) ALPs that are otherwise inaccessible to laboratory-based experiments which rely on ALP decay, and complements astrophysical probes that are more model-dependent. As a first application, we reinterpret existing data from the NOMAD experiment in light of PASSAT, and constrain the parameter space for ALPs lighter than $$\sim 100~\mathrm{eV}$$ ~ 100 eV and ALP-photon coupling larger than $$\sim 10^{-4}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$$ ~ 10 - 4 GeV - 1 . As benchmarks of feasible low-cost experiments improving over the NOMAD limits, we study the possibility of re-using the magnets of the CAST and the proposed BabyIAXO experiments and placing them at the proposed BDF facility at CERN, together with some new detectors. We find that these realizations of PASSAT allow for a direct probe of the parameter space for ALPs lighter than $$\sim 100~\mathrm{eV}$$ ~ 100 eV and ALP-photon coupling larger than $$\sim 4\times 10^{-6}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$$ ~ 4 × 10 - 6 GeV - 1 , which are regions that have not been probed yet by experiments with laboratory-produced ALPs. In contrast to other proposals aiming at detecting single or two-photon only events in hadronic beam dump environments, that rely heavily on Monte Carlo simulations, the background in our proposal can be directly measured in-situ , its suppression optimized, and the irreducible background statistically subtracted. Sensitivity evaluations with other beams will be the subject of a future paper. The measurements suggested in this paper represent an additional physics case for the BDF at CERN beyond those already proposed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Strategic Search Plan for Axions and Axion-like-particles

Axions are one of the most promising candidates to constitute the DarkMatter in our universe. The benchmark QCD axion covers a narrowparameter space, but many well-motivated extensions of the StandardModel predict Axion-like-Particles in wide parameter regions. In thissupport note we detail on searches covering the extended axion-like particle parameter space proposed to the European strategy

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing Axion-Like-Particles at the CERN Gamma Factory

We report the aim of the proposed CERN Gamma Factory is to produce ≈10 17 photons per second with energies up to 400 MeV. The photon beam intensity is expected to be a factor of $\mathcal{O}$(10 7 ) larger than that of the presently available photon beams in the MeV energy range. In this work, its potential to probe physics beyond the Standard Model is explored. In particular, searches for axion like particles (ALPs) with dominant couplings to photons are discussed and various production scenarios - fixed target, photon-photon collision, and conversion by a magnetic field - and detection schemes considered - via decay to photons or back-conversion. It is found that the Gamma Factory in a fixed target mode can probe ALPs with mass m a ≲ $\mathcal{O}$(100 MeV) and decay constants larger than 10 7 GeV, improving by an order of magnitude the discovery potential of previous beam dump experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Resonant Landau-Zener conversion in multi-axion systems

Multiple axions may emerge in the low-energy effective theory of Nature. Generically, the potentials describing these axion fields are non-diagonal, leading to mass mixing between axion states which can be temperature-dependent due to QCD instanton effects. As the temperature of the Universe drops, level crossing can occur, causing resonant conversion between axion states. In this work, we present an analytic study of the cosmological evolution of multi-axion systems including adiabatic and non-adiabatic resonant conversion from one axion state into another during the misalignment process. We show how the Landau-Zener formalism accurately captures the non-adiabatic resonant conversion, permitting an analytic description of the relic abundances of each axion field for nearly any arbitrary two-state axion mass matrix. As an application, we study the mixing of a QCD axion with an axion-like-particle for specific potentials to identify the predictions for haloscope experiments. We conclude that the detection of an axion off the expected QCD mass-coupling line predicts other haloscope targets if it mixes with the QCD axion.

Axions and ALPs↗
DOE OSTI2020

KOTO vs. NA62 dark scalar searches

The two kaon factories, KOTO and NA62, are at the cutting edge of the intensity frontier, with an unprecedented numbers of long lived and charged Kaons,~10 13 , being measured and analyzed. These experiments have currently a unique opportunity to search for dark sectors. In this paper, we demonstrate that searches done at KOTO and NA62 are complementary, both probing uncharted territories. We consider two qualitatively different physics cases. In the first, we analyze models of axion-like-particles (ALP) which couple to gluons or electroweak gauge bosons. In the second, we introduce a model based on an approximate strange flavor symmetry that leads to a strong violation of the Grossman-Nir bound. For the first scenario, we design a new search strategy for the KOTO experiment,K L → π 0 a →4γ. Its expected sensitivity on the branching ratio is at the level of 10 -9 . This demonstrates the great potential of KOTO as a discovery machine. In addition, we revisit other bounds on ALPs from Kaon factories, highlighting the main sources of theoretical uncertainty, and collider experiments, and show new projections. For the second scenario, we show that the model may be compatible with the preliminary analysis of the KOTO-data that shows a hint for New Physics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Probing the scale of ALP interactions with Fermi blazars

Gamma-rays from cosmological sources contain information about gamma-ray interactions. Standard model and non-standard model photon interactions along the path between the source and the observer can lead to changes in the energy or state of the photons, which in turn alters the observed energy spectrum of the source. In general, these interactions are a function of photon energy as well as source distance. Here we show how existing high energy gamma-ray observations of blazars can be used to constrain the coupling of axion-like-particles (ALPs) to the photon. The same ALP-photon coupling that has been invoked to explain the observations of TeV blazars beyond their pair production horizon is shown to have a potential effect on the data set of Fermi blazars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ALP conversion and the soft X-ray excess in the outskirts of the Coma cluster

It was recently found that the soft X-ray excess in the center of the Coma cluster can be fitted by conversion of axion-like-particles (ALPs) of a cosmic axion background (CAB) to photons. We extend this analysis to the outskirts of Coma, including regions up to 5 Mpc from the center of the cluster. We extract the excess soft X-ray flux from ROSAT All-Sky Survey data and compare it to the expected flux from ALP to photon conversion of a CAB. The soft X-ray excess both in the center and the outskirts of Coma can be simultaneously fitted by ALP to photon conversion of a CAB. Given the uncertainties of the cluster magnetic field in the outskirts we constrain the parameter space of the CAB. In particular, an upper limit on the CAB mean energy and a range of allowed ALP-photon couplings are derived.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Photon-dark photon conversions in extreme background electromagnetic fields

The mixing of photons with light pseudoscalars in the presence of external electromagnetic fields has been used extensively to search for axion-like-particles. A similar effect for dark photon propagating states is usually not considered due to the Landau-Yang theorem. We point out that mixing between photon and dark photon propagating states in background electromagnetic fields can indeed occur, in non-linear QED, through a four-photon vertex by integrating out the electron box diagram. Starting from the Schwinger Lagrangian, we derive the equations of motion for dark photons interacting with the Standard Model photon through gauge kinetic terms. We provide expressions for the perpendicular and parallel refractive indices in series expansions in the critical field strength, valid both in the strong and weak background field limits. We then consider mixing between the photon-dark photon propagating system in the presence of pure electric and magnetic background fields, and work out the probability of conversion when the background fields are homogeneous. We indicate outlines of the calculation in the inhomogeneous case, and finally express our results in the active-sterile basis, where we find that the mixing induced by background fields can lead to corrections to the tree-level mixing in the zero field limit that is usually considered to probe such systems. Our results may find applications for probing photon-dark photon conversions in the vicinity of neutron stars and in table-top petawatt laser experiments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetars and axion-like particles: probes with the hard X-ray spectrum

Quiescent hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray emission from neutron stars constitute a promising frontier to explore axion-like-particles (ALPs). ALP production in the core peaks at energies of a few keV to a few hundreds of keV; subsequently, the ALPs escape and convert to photons in the magnetosphere. The emissivity goes as ~T 6 while the conversion probability is enhanced for large magnetic fields, making magnetars, with their high core temperatures and strong magnetic fields, ideal targets for probing ALPs. We compute the energy spectrum of photons resulting from conversion of ALPs in the magnetosphere and then compare it against hard X-ray data from NuSTAR, INTEGRAL, and XMM-Newton, for a set of eight magnetars for which such data exists. Upper limits are placed on the product of the ALP-nucleon and ALP-photon couplings. For the production in the core, we perform a calculation of the ALP emissivity in degenerate nuclear matter modeled by a relativistic mean field theory. The reduction of the emissivity due to improvements to the one-pion exchange approximation is incorporated, as is the suppression of the emissivity due to proton superfluidity in the neutron star core. A range of core temperatures is considered, corresponding to different models of the steady heat transfer from the core to the stellar surface. For the subsequent conversion, we solve the coupled differential equations mixing ALPs and photons in the magnetosphere. The conversion occurs due to a competition between the dipolar magnetic field and the photon refractive index induced by the external magnetic field. Semi-analytic expressions are provided alongside the full numerical results. Furthermore, we also present an analysis of the uncertainty on the axion limits we derive due to the uncertainties in the magnetar masses, nuclear matter equation of state, and the proton superfluid critical temperature.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Polarization formalism for ALP-induced X-ray emission from magnetars

Missions like NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) are poised to provide an unprecedented view of the Universe in polarized X-rays. Polarization probes physical anisotropies, a fact exploited by particle physicists to look for the anisotropic a E∙B operator in the axion-like-particle (ALP) Lagrangian. Such studies have typically focused on polarization in the radio and microwaves, through local or cosmic birefringence effects. To such polarization studies we add X-rays emanating from magnetars — a class of neutron stars with near-critical strength magnetic fields — that are important targets for IXPE. ALPs produced in the neutron star core convert to X-rays in the magnetosphere; such X-rays are polarized along the direction parallel to the dipolar magnetic field at the point of conversion. Here, we develop the full theoretical formalism for ALP-induced polarization in the presence of dipolar magnetic fields. For uncorrelated photon and ALP production mechanisms, we completely disentangle the ALP contributions to the Stokes parameters in terms of the ALP intensity, the ALP-to-photon conversion probability, and the ALP-induced birefringence. In the proper limit, our results demonstrate that the inclusion of ALPs suppresses the observed degree of circular polarization compared to its pure astrophysical value. Our results can also be used to impose limits on ALP couplings with IXPE polarization data from magnetars 4U 0142+61 and 1RXS J170849.0-400910, the subject of upcoming work.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Axion constraints from quiescent soft gamma-ray emission from magnetars

We report axion-like-particles (ALPs) emitted from the core of a magnetar can convert to photons in its magnetosphere. The resulting photon flux is sensitive to the product of (i) the ALP-nucleon coupling G an which controls the production cross section in the core and (ii) the ALP-photon coupling g aγγ which controls the conversion in the magnetosphere. We study such emissions in the soft-gamma-ray range (300 keV to 1 MeV), where the ALP spectrum peaks and astrophysical backgrounds from resonant Compton up scattering are expected to be suppressed. Using published quiescent soft-gamma-ray flux upper limits in five magnetars obtained with CGRO COMPTEL and INTEGRAL SPI/IBIS/ISGRI, we put limits on the product of the ALP-nucleon and ALP-photon couplings. We also provide a detailed study of the dependence of our results on the magnetar core temperature. We further show projections of our result for future Fermi-GBM observations. Our results motivate a program of studying quiescent soft-gamma-ray emission from magnetars with the Fermi-GBM.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for ultralight dark matter in the SuperMAG high-fidelity dataset

Ultralight dark matter, such as kinetically mixed dark-photon dark matter (DPDM) or axion-like-particle dark matter (axion DM), can source an oscillating magnetic-field signal at Earth’s surface. Previous work searched for this signal in a publicly available dataset of global magnetometer measurements maintained by the SuperMAG collaboration. This “low-fidelity” dataset reported measurements with a 1-min time resolution, allowing the search to set leading direct constraints on DPDM and axion DM with Compton frequencies f DM ≤ 1 / ( 1 min ) (corresponding to masses m DM ≤ 7 × 10 − 17 eV ). More recently, a dedicated experiment undertaken by the SNIPE Hunt collaboration has also searched for this same signal at higher frequencies f DM ≥ 0.5 Hz (or m DM ≥ 2 × 10 − 15 eV ). In this work, we search for this signal of ultralight DM in the SuperMAG “high-fidelity” dataset, which features a 1-sec time resolution, allowing us to probe the gap in parameter space between the low-fidelity dataset and the SNIPE Hunt experiment. The high-fidelity dataset exhibits lower geomagnetic noise than the low-fidelity dataset and features more data than the SNIPE Hunt experiment, making it a powerful probe of ultralight DM. Our search finds no robust DPDM or axion DM candidates. We set constraints on DPDM and axion DM parameter space for 10 − 3 Hz ≤ f DM ≤ 0.98 Hz (or 4 × 10 − 18 eV ≤ m DM ≤ 4 × 10 − 15 eV ). Our results are the leading direct constraints on both DPDM and axion DM in this mass range, and our DPDM constraint surpasses the leading astrophysical constraint in a narrow range around m A ′ ≈ 2 × 10 − 15 eV . Published by the American Physical Society 2024

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Axions: From magnetars and neutron star mergers to beam dumps and BECs

We review topics in searches for axion-like-particles (ALPs), covering material that is complementary to other recent reviews. The first half of our review covers ALPs in the extreme environments of neutron star cores, the magnetospheres of highly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars), and in neutron star mergers. The focus is on possible signals of ALPs in the photon spectrum of neutron stars and gravitational wave/electromagnetic signals from neutron star mergers. We then review recent developments in laboratory-produced ALP searches, focusing mainly on accelerator-based facilities including beam-dump type experiments and collider experiments. We provide a general-purpose discussion of the ALP search pipeline from production to detection, in steps, and our discussion is straightforwardly applicable to most beam-dump type and reactor experiments. We end with a selective look at the rapidly developing field of ultralight dark matter, specifically the formation of Bose–Einstein Condensates (BECs). We review the properties of BECs of ultralight dark matter and bridge these properties with developments in numerical simulations, and ultimately with their impact on experimental searches.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2015

Light Dark Matter in the NO$\nu$A Near Detector, a First Look at the New Data

The neutrino oscillations experiment NOA is the agship of Fermi National Laboratory. The neutrino source NuMI is delivering record numbers of protons-on-target surpassing the most stringent dark matter production upper limits of current models in the under-10 GeV mass range. We take advantage of the sophisticated particle identication algorithms of the experiment to interrogate the data from the 300-ton, o-axis, low-Z, Near Detector of NOvA during the rst physics runs. We search for signatures of sub-GeV or Light Dark Matter (LDM), Axion-like-particles, and Heavy or Sterile Neutrinos that may scatter or decay in the volume of the detector.

Hatzikoutelis, Athanasios↗
DOE OSTI2015

Search for exotic short-range interactions using paramagnetic insulators

We describe a proposed experimental search for exotic spin-coupled interactions using a solid-state paramagnetic insulator. The experiment is sensitive to the net magnetization induced by the exotic interaction between the unpaired insulator electrons with a dense, nonmagnetic mass in close proximity. An existing experiment has been used to set limits on the electric dipole moment of the electron by probing the magnetization induced in a cryogenic gadolinium gallium garnet sample on application of a strong electric field. With suitable additions, including a movable source mass, this experiment can be used to explore “monopole-dipole” forces on polarized electrons with unique or unprecedented sensitivity. As a result, the solid-state, nonmagnetic construction, combined with the low-noise conditions and extremely sensitive magnetometry available at cryogenic temperatures could lead to a sensitivity over 10 orders of magnitude greater than exiting limits in the range below 1 mm.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗