Related papers: Axions for amateurs
Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is prima facie…
We describe a variant of the popular game "Pictionary" based on terms used in elementary and high school physics. We believe that drawing of physical terms helps students develop a deeper understanding of physical concepts behind them, as…
We comment on the recent experimental results from the PVLAS and CAST collaborations that search for axion-like particles. We propose a particle physics model in which their apparent inconsistency is circumvented.
I review the physics of axions, paying attention to the role as dark matter. This paper is based on talks given at the workshops ``Thinking, Observing and Mining the Universe'' held in Sorrento (Italy), September 22-27, 2003, and at…
The axion is a hypothesized particle appearing in various theories beyond the Standard Model. It is a light spin-0 boson initially postulated to solve the strong CP problem and is also a strong candidate for dark matter. If the axion or an…
The dark matter puzzle is one of the most important open problems in modern physics. The ultra-light axion is a well-motivated dark matter candidate, conceived to resolve the strong-CP problem of quantum chromodynamics. Numerous precision…
Light bosonic fields may suffer an instability around a rotating compact object. This process, known as superradiance, leads to the exponential amplification of the field around a black hole or neutron star, while the spin of the central…
This study was investigated to understand the in-depth features and processes of physicists' scientific inquiries. At first, research motives were investigated by interviewing six physicists who were prominent worldwide. As a result, three…
The possibility of fundamental theories with very many ground states, each with different physical parameters, changes the way that we approach the major questions of particle physics. Most importantly, it raises the possibility that these…
There is a growing sense of `crisis' in the dark matter community, due to the absence of evidence for the most popular candidates such as weakly interacting massive particles, axions, and sterile neutrinos, despite the enormous effort that…
Almost all theories of physics have expressed physical laws by means of differential equations. One can ask: why differential equations? What is special about them? This article addresses these questions and is presented as an inquiry-based…
This white paper collects some open questions in several different aspects of axion theories. The questions are related to quantization of axion couplings, axion-magnetic monopole systems, axions in quantum gravity theory, axion…
The current status of axion physics is presented. There still exists the axion window 10^9 GeV < F_a < 10^{12} GeV. The recent CAST solar axion search experiment on the axion-photon-photon coupling strength has to be improved by a factor of…
A review of the status of axions and axion-like particles is given. Special attention is devoted to the recent results of the PVLAS collaboration, which are in conflict with the CAST data and with the astrophysical constraints. Solutions to…
Several aspects of the motivation for particle dark matter search are introduced. The experimental principles and present state of the most important experiments are presented. Direct searches for WIMPs are explained in some detail,…
We study the underlying theory of dielectric haloscopes, a new way to detect dark matter axions. When an interface between different dielectric media is inside a magnetic field, the oscillating axion field acts as a source of…
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.…
Fundamental physical constants play important role in modern physics. Studies of their variation can open an interface to new physics. An overview of different approaches to a search for such variations is presented as well as possible…
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are hypothetical entities often invoked to solve various problems in particle physics to cosmology. They are one of the most promising candidates to explain the elusive dark matter. A way to search for ALPs is…
There is a strong possibility that the particles making up the dark matter in the Universe have a mass below 1 eV and in many important situations exhibit a wave-like behavior. Amongst the candidates the axion stands out as particularly…