Related papers: Axion configurations around pulsars
Axions can be copiously produced in localized regions of neutron star magnetospheres where the ambient plasma is unable to efficiently screen the induced electric field. As these axions stream away from the neutron star they can resonantly…
Recent work has shown that axions can be efficiently produced via non-stationary pair plasma discharges in the polar cap region of pulsars. Here, we point out that for axion masses $10^{-9} \, {\rm eV} \lesssim m_a \lesssim 10^{-4} \, \rm…
It is a well-known fact that compact gravitating objects admit bound state configurations for massive bosonic fields. In this work we describe a new class of superradiant instabilities of axion bound states in neutron star magnetospheres.…
Pulsars possess strong dipole magnetic fields that can source axion fields through the axion-photon interaction. Pulsars may therefore be surrounded by axion field configurations oscillating with the pulsar's rotational period. These axions…
We investigate the production of photons from coherently oscillating, spatially localized clumps of axionic fields (oscillons and axion stars) in the presence of external electromagnetic fields. We delineate different qualitative behaviour…
Non-relativistic axions can be efficiently produced in in the polar caps of pulsars, resulting in the formation of a dense cloud of gravitationally bound axions. Here, we investigate the interplay between such an axion cloud and the…
We consider constraints on the axion-photon coupling by superradiance due to a plasma instability in the magnetospheres of millisecond pulsars. We compute the growth rate of a superradiant axion cloud in a dipole magnetic field, and give a…
Axion-like particles (ALPs) can couple to photons in strong magnetic fields, producing characteristic fluctuations in X-ray spectra. Using data from NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we analyzed three pulsars: PSR…
The axion, as a leading dark matter candidate, is the target of many ongoing and proposed experimental searches based on its coupling to photons. Ultralight axions that couple to photons can also cause polarization rotation of light, which…
Neutron stars (NS's) with their strong magnetic fields and hot dense cores could be powerful probes of axions, a classic benchmark of feebly-coupled new particles, through abundant production of axions with the axion-nucleon coupling and…
The measurements of the linear polarisation of visible light from quasars give strong evidence for large-scale coherent orientations of their polarisation vectors in some regions of the sky. We show that these observations can be explained…
Recent experiments suggest that polarized photons may couple significantly to pseudoscalar particles such as axions. We study the possible observational signatures of axion-photon coupling for radiation from magnetic stars, with particular…
In axion electrodynamics, magnetic fields enable axion-photon mixing. Recent proposals suggest that rotating, conductive plasmas in neutron star magnetospheres could trigger axion superradiant instabilities -- an intriguing idea, given that…
Recent investigations by Noordhuis et al. [1, 2] and others have demonstrated the occurrence of strong local inhomogeneous axion regions in the polar cap regions of neutron stars. These regions are characterized by static magnetic fields…
Compact objects such as neutron stars and white dwarfs can source axion-like particles and QCD axions due to CP-violating axion-fermion couplings. The magnitude of the axion field depends on the stellar density and on the strength of the…
The main motivation for our work has been a puzzling observation concerning quasars. No one expected the existence of correlations in the polarisation of visible light coming from objects separated by gigaparsecs, until they were first…
Axions are hypothetical particles related to the violation of the charge-parity symmetry, being the most prone candidates for dark matter. Multiple attempts to prove their existence are currently performed in different physical systems.…
From the analysis of measurements of the linear polarisation of visible light coming from quasars, the existence of large-scale coherent orientations of quasar polarisation vectors in some regions of the sky has been reported. Here, we show…
We present a brief overview of the ongoing searches for the axion particle via its coupling to photons. Both the classical QCD axions and more recently proposed Axion-Like-Particles are considered. Astrophysical bounds on the axion-photon…
We give detailed predictions for the spectral signatures arising from photon-particle oscillations in astrophysical objects. The calculations include quantum electrodynamic effects as well as those due to active relativistic plasma. We show…