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I review several ongoing connections between space physics and astrophysics: a) Measurements of energetic particle spectra have confirmed theoretical prediction of the highest energy to which shocks can accelerate particles, and this has…
We investigate the effective interaction of a pseudoscalar particle with two photons in an external electromagnetic field in the general case of all external particles being off the mass shell. This interaction is used to study the…
The observation of a non-vanishing rotation of linear polarized laser light after passage through a strong magnetic field by the PVLAS collaboration has renewed the interest in light particles coupled to photons. Axions are a species of…
The PVLAS signal has led to the proposal of many experiments searching for light bosons coupled to photons. The coupling strength probed by these near future searches is, however, far from the allowed region, if astrophysical bounds apply.…
Precision spectroscopy of atoms and molecules allows one to search for and to put stringent limits on the variation of fundamental constants. These experiments are typically interpreted in terms of variations of the fine structure constant…
We consider the minimal coupling of two photons to neutral scalar and pseudoscalar fields, as for instance in the case of the Higgs boson and axion, respectively. In this framework, we analyze the photon dispersion relations in the presence…
Photospheric velocities and stellar activity features such as spots and faculae produce measurable radial velocity signals that currently obscure the detection of sub-meter-per-second planetary signals. However, photospheric velocities are…
We study early and late time signatures of both QCD axion strings and hyperlight axion strings (axiverse strings). We focus on charge deposition onto axion strings from electromagnetic fields and subsequent novel neutralizing mechanisms due…
Variations of the X-ray spectral slope have been found in many Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) at moderate luminosities and redshifts, typically showing a "softer when brighter" behaviour. However, similar studies are not usually performed for…
Astrophysical sources of energetic gamma rays provide the right conditions for maximal mixing between (pseudo)scalar (axion-like) particles and photons if their coupling is as strong as suggested by the PVLAS claim. This is independent of…
Many thermonuclear X-ray bursts exhibit brightness oscillations. The brightness oscillations are thought to be due to the combined effects of non-uniform nuclear burning and rotation of the neutron star. The waveforms of the oscillations…
We report that axions and photons exhibit instability in the presence of cosmic strings that are carrying magnetic flux in their core. The strength of the instability is determined by the symmetry breaking scale of the cosmic string theory.…
Photon regeneration experiments searching for signatures of oscillations of photons into hypothetical very weakly interacting ultra-light particles, such as axions, axion-like and hidden-sector particles, have improved their sensitivity…
Axion dark matter can be converted into photons in the magnetospheres of neutron stars leading to a spectral line centred on the Compton wavelength of the axion. Due to the rotation of the star and the plasma effects in the magnetosphere…
Recent observations by H.E.S.S. and MAGIC strongly suggest that the Universe is more transparent to very-high-energy gamma rays than previously thought. We show that this fact can be reconciled with standard blazar emission models provided…
Fundamental constants such as masses and coupling constants of elementary particles can have small temporal and spatial variations in the scalar field dark matter model. These variations entail time oscillations of other constants, such as…
Optical precision experiments are a powerful tool to explore hidden sectors of a variety of standard-model extensions with potentially tiny couplings to photons. An important example is given by extensions involving an extra light U(1)…
We perform a linear mode analysis of a uniformly distributed cloud of axion-like particles (ALPs) embedded in a magnetized intergalactic medium, in order to investigate the stability of axion stars under realistic astrophysical conditions.…
In string theory, the simultaneous existence of many Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) are suggested over a vast mass range, and a variety of potentials have been developed in the context of inflation. In such potentials shallower than quadratic,…
In this work, we investigate the observable optical signatures of the Mod(A)Max black hole spacetime. We analyze key optical features, including the photon sphere, black hole shadow, and photon trajectories, and examine how these…