Neutron stars as photon double-lenses: Constraining resonant conversion into ALPs

Author(s)

Kyrylo Bondarenko, Alexey Boyarsky, Josef Pradler, Anastasia Sokolenko

Abstract

Axion-photon conversion is a prime mechanism to detect axion-like particles that share a coupling to the photon. We point out that in the vicinity of neutron stars with strong magnetic fields, magnetars, the effective photon mass receives comparable but opposite contributions from free electrons and the radiation field. This leads to an energy-dependent resonance condition for conversion that can be met for arbitrary light axions and leveraged when using systems with detected radio component. Using the magnetar SGR J1745-2900 as an exemplary source, we demonstrate that sensitivity to |gaγ|∼10−12GeV−1 or better can be gained for ma≲10−6eV, with the potential to improve current constraints on the axion-photon coupling by more than one order of magnitude over a broad mass range. With growing insights into the physical conditions of magnetospheres of magnetars, the method hosts the potential to become a serious competitor to future experiments such as ALPS-II and IAXO in the search for axion-like particles.

Organisation(s)

Particle Physics

External organisation(s)

Università degli Studi di Trieste, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Leiden University, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), University of Chicago

Journal

Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics

Volume

846

No. of pages

7

ISSN

0370-2693

DOI

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2203.08663

Publication date

11-2023

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103012 High energy physics

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/neutron-stars-as-photon-doublelenses-constraining-resonant-conversion-into-alps(646f8e7f-9b9a-41b1-b577-83535696fd08).html