Axion emission in decay of excited nuclear states

Abstract

Decay of an excited nuclear state by axion emission can be related, under certain circumstances, to an isotopically analogous β decay process. All strong interaction and nuclear complications for the former reaction are therefore fixed by data on the latter, so that the axion rate can be reliably predicted up to open parameters of the underlying weak interaction model. This is illustrated, in the framework of a simple axion model, with the example of decay of 12C ∗ (15.1 MeV). For plausible values of the parameters, the ratio of axion to gamma decay widths is of order 10 −5. Some aspects of decay of the axion itself are commented on; and we also briefly discuss possible alternative models of axion interactions.