Primakoff Process Research Articles

A comprehensive calculation of the Primakoff process andthe solar axion flux

The Primakoff process plays a crucial role in axion productionin astrophysical environments and laboratories. Given the rising interestin axion physics and many on-going experimental activities, we conducta comprehensive calculation of this process and carefully examineseveral aspects that have been neglected in the literature. In particular,our calculation is valid for axions with significantly large masses,which would be of importance to axion searches utilizing crystal andliquid xenon detectors. We present the most updated calculation ofthe Primakoff solar axion flux, with a simple parametrization thatis applicable to a broad range of axion masses up to a few tens ofkeV. Our code is publicly available at GitHub.

New Directions for Axionlike Particle Searches Combining Nuclear Reactors and Haloscopes

In this Letter, we propose reactoscope, a novel experimental setup for axionlike particle (ALP) searches. Nuclear reactors produce a copious number of photons, a fraction of which could convert into ALPs via Primakoff process in the reactor core. The generated flux of ALPs leaves the nuclear power plant and its passage through a region with a strong magnetic field results in the efficient conversion to photons that can be detected. Such magnetic field is the key component of axion haloscope experiments. Adjacent nuclear reactor and axion haloscope experiments exist in Grenoble, France. There, the Institut Laue-Langevin research reactor is situated only ∼700 m from GrAHal, the axion haloscope platform designed to offer several volume and magnetic field (up to 43 T) configurations. We derive sensitivity projections for photophilic ALP searches with the institute and GrAHal, and also scrutinize analogous realizations, such as the one comprising the Axion Solar Telescope experiment at CERN and the Bugey nuclear power plant. The results that we obtain complement and extend the reach of existing laboratory experiments, e.g., the light-shining-through-walls experiment. While the derived sensitivities are not competitive when compared to the astrophysical limits, our analysis is free from the assumptions associated with those limits. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Dynamic solar Primakoff process

The Primakoff mechanism is one of the primary channels for the production of solar axions. In canonical estimations of the Primakoff photon-axion conversion rate, the recoil effect is neglected and a static structure factor in adopted. By use of linear response theory, we provide a dynamic description of the solar Primakoff process. It is found that the collective electrons overtake ions as the dominant factor, in contrast to the static screening picture, where ions contribute more to the photon-axion conversion. Nonetheless, the resulting axion flux is only 1% to 2% lower than the standard estimate based on the static structure factor. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Prospects for detecting axionlike particles at the Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills experiment

We show results from the Coherent CAPTAIN Mills (CCM) 2019 engineering run which begin to constrain regions of parameter space for axionlike particles (ALPs) produced in electromagnetic particle showers in an 800 MeV proton beam dump, and further investigate the sensitivity of ongoing data-taking campaigns for the CCM200 upgraded detector. Based on beam-on background estimates from the engineering run, we make realistic extrapolations for background reduction based on expected shielding improvements, reduced beam width, and analysis-based techniques for background rejection. We obtain reach projections for two classes of signatures; ALPs coupled primarily to photons can be produced in the tungsten target via the Primakoff process, and then produce a gamma-ray signal in the liquid argon CCM detector either via inverse Primakoff scattering or decay to a photon pair. ALPs with significant electron couplings have several additional production mechanisms (Compton scattering, e+e− annihilation, ALP-bremsstrahlung) and detection modes (inverse Compton scattering, external e+e− pair conversion, and decay to e+e−). In some regions, the constraint is marginally better than both astrophysical and terrestrial constraints. With the beginning of a three year run, CCM will be more sensitive to this parameter space by up to an order of magnitude for both ALP-photon and ALP-electron couplings. The CCM experiment will also have sensitivity to well-motivated parameter space of QCD axion models. It is only a recent realization that accelerator-based large volume liquid argon detectors designed for low-energy coherent neutrino and dark matter scattering searches are also ideal for probing ALPs in the unexplored ∼MeV mass scale.8 MoreReceived 20 January 2022Accepted 25 April 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.107.095036Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasAxionsExtensions of gauge sectorHypothetical particle physics modelsParticle dark matterParticle decaysParticle interactionsParticle productionParticles & Fields

Strong supernovae bounds on ALPs from quantum loops

We show that in theories of axionlike particles (ALPs) coupled to electrons at tree-level, the one-loop effective coupling to photons is process dependent: the effective coupling relevant for decay processes, gaγ (D), differs significantly from the coupling appearing in the phenomenologically important Primakoff process, gaγ (P). We show that this has important implications for the physics of massive ALPs in hot and dense environments, such as supernovae. We derive, as a consequence, new limits on the ALP-electron coupling, ĝae , from SN 1987A by accounting for all relevant production processes, including one-loop processes, and considering bounds from excess cooling as well as the absence of an associated gamma-ray burst from ALP decays. Our limits are among the strongest to date for ALP masses in the range 0.03 MeV < ma < 240 MeV. Moreover, we also show how cosmological bounds on the ALP-photon coupling translate into new, strong limits on ĝae at one loop. Our analysis emphasises that large hierarchies between ALP effective couplings are difficult to realise once quantum loops are taken into account.

Radiation Backreaction in Axion Electrodynamics

Energy–momentum conservation of classical axion electrodynamics is carefully analyzed in the Hamiltonian formulation of the theory. The term responsible for the energy transfer between the electromagnetic and the axion sectors is identified. As a special application, the axion-to-light Primakoff process in the background of a static magnetic field is worked out and the radiative self-damping of the axion oscillations is characterized quantitatively. The damping time turns out comparable to the age of the Universe in the preferred axion mass range.

Axion dark radiation: Hubble tension and the Hyper-Kamiokande neutrino experiment

In this work, we investigate the dark sector of a supersymmetric axion model, consisting of the late-decaying gravitino/axino dark matter and axion dark radiation. In the early universe, the decay of the scalar superpartner of the axion (saxion) will produce a large amount of entropy. The additional entropy can not only dilute the relic density of the gravitino/axino dark matter to avoid overclosing the universe but also relax the constraint on the reheating temperature $T_{R}$ after inflation. Meanwhile, the axion dark radiation from the saxion decay will increase the effective number of neutrino species $N_{\rm eff}$, which can help to reduce the cosmological Hubble tension. In the late universe, the decay of long-lived gravitino/axino dark matter produces the axions with MeV-scale kinetic energy. We study the potential of searching for such energetic axions through the inverse Primakoff process $a+A \to \gamma+ A$ in the neutrino experiments, such as Hyper-Kamiokande.

3D template-based Fermi -LAT constraints on the diffuse supernova axion-like particle background

Axion-like particles (ALPs) may be abundantly produced in core-collapse (CC) supernovae (SNe), hence the cumulative signal from all past SN events can create a diffuse flux peaked at energies of about 25~MeV. We improve upon the modeling of the ALPs flux by including a set of CC SN models with different progenitor masses, as well as the effects of failed CC SNe -- which yield the formation of black holes instead of explosions. Relying on the coupling strength of ALPs to photons and the related Primakoff process, the diffuse SN ALP flux is converted into gamma rays while traversing the magnetic field of the Milky Way. The spatial morphology of this signal is expected to follow the shape of the Galactic magnetic field lines. We make use of this via a template-based analysis that utilizes 12 years of $Fermi$-LAT data in the energy range from 50 MeV to 500 GeV. In our benchmark case of the realization of astrophysical and cosmological parameters, we find an upper limit of $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 3.76\times10^{-11}\;\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ at 95$\%$ confidence level for $m_a \ll 10^{-11}$ eV, while we find that systematic deviations from this benchmark scenario induce an uncertainty as large as about a factor of two. Our result slightly improves the CAST bound, while still being a factor of six (baseline scenario) weaker than the SN1987A gamma-ray burst limit.

Pathfinder for a high statistics search for missing energy in gamma cascades

We investigate the feasibility of a high statistics experiment to search for invisible decay modes in nuclear gamma cascades using 200 kg of %36 Cs(Tl) scintillators that are presently available at Texas A\&M. The experiment aims to search for missing energy by robustly establishing the absence of a photon in a well identified gamma cascade. We report on the experimental demonstration of the energy resolution necessary for this search. Prior explorations of this detector concept focused on baryonically coupled physics that could be emitted in $E_2$ transitions. We point out that this protocol can also search for particles that are coupled to photons by searching for the conversion of a photon produced in a gamma cascade into a hidden particle. Examples of these processes include the oscillation of a photon into a hidden photon and the conversion of a photon into an axion-like-particle either in the presence of a magnetic field or via the Primakoff process. This proof-of-concept apparatus appears to have the ability to search for hitherto unconstrained baryonically coupled scalars and pseudoscalars produced in $E_0$ and $M_0$ transitions. If successfully implemented, this experiment serves as a pathfinder for a larger detector with greater containment that can thoroughly probe the existence of new particles with mass below 4 MeV that lie in the poorly constrained supernova ``trapping window'' that exists between 100 keV and 30 MeV.

Astroparticle Physics with Compact Objects

Probing the existence of hypothetical particles beyond the Standard model often deals with extreme parameters: large energies, tiny cross-sections, large time scales, etc. Sometimes, laboratory experiments can test required regions of parameter space, but more often natural limitations lead to poorly restrictive upper limits. In such cases, astrophysical studies can help to expand the range of values significantly. Among astronomical sources, used in interests of fundamental physics, compact objects—neutron stars and white dwarfs—play a leading role. We review several aspects of astroparticle physics studies related to observations and properties of these celestial bodies. Dark matter particles can be collected inside compact objects resulting in additional heating or collapse. We summarize regimes and rates of particle capturing as well as possible astrophysical consequences. Then, we focus on a particular type of hypothetical particles—axions. Their existence can be uncovered due to observations of emission originated due to the Primakoff process in magnetospheres of neutron stars or white dwarfs. Alternatively, they can contribute to the cooling of these compact objects. We present results in these areas, including upper limits based on recent observations.

Direct detection of dark energy: The XENON1T excess and future prospects

We explore the prospects for direct detection of dark energy by current and upcoming terrestrial dark matter direct detection experiments. If dark energy is driven by a new light degree of freedom coupled to matter and photons then dark energy quanta are predicted to be produced in the Sun. These quanta free-stream towards Earth where they can interact with Standard Model particles in the detection chambers of direct detection experiments, presenting the possibility that these experiments could be used to test dark energy. Screening mechanisms, which suppress fifth forces associated with new light particles, and are a necessary feature of many dark energy models, prevent production processes from occurring in the core of the Sun, and similarly, in the cores of red giant, horizontal branch, and white dwarf stars. Instead, the coupling of dark energy to photons leads to production in the strong magnetic field of the solar tachocline via a mechanism analogous to the Primakoff process. This then allows for detectable signals on Earth while evading the strong constraints that would typically result from stellar probes of new light particles. As an example, we examine whether the electron recoil excess recently reported by the XENON1T collaboration can be explained by chameleon-screened dark energy, and find that such a model is preferred over the background-only hypothesis at the $2.0\sigma$ level, in a large range of parameter space not excluded by stellar (or other) probes. This raises the tantalizing possibility that XENON1T may have achieved the first direct detection of dark energy. Finally, we study the prospects for confirming this scenario using planned future detectors such as XENONnT, PandaX-4T, and LUX-ZEPLIN.

New physics searches at the ILC positron and electron beam dumps

We study capability of the ILC beam dump experiment to search for new physics, comparing the performance of the electron and positron beam dumps. The dark photon, axion-like particles, and light scalar bosons are considered as new physics scenarios, where all the important production mechanisms are included: electron-positron pair-annihilation, Primakoff process, and bremsstrahlung productions.We find that the ILC beam dump experiment has higher sensitivity than past beam dump experiments, with the positron beam dump having slightly better performance for new physics particles which are produced by the electron-positron pair-annihilation.

Production of axionlike particles from photon conversions in large-scale solar magnetic fields

The Sun is a well-studied astrophysical source of axion-like particles (ALPs), produced mainly through the Primakoff process. Moreover, in the Sun there exist large-scale magnetic fields that catalyze an additional ALP production via a coherent conversion of thermal photons. We study this contribution to the solar ALP emissivity, typically neglected in previous investigations. Furthermore, we discuss additional bounds on the ALP-photon coupling from energy-loss arguments, and the detection perspectives of this new ALP flux at future helioscope and dark matter experiments.

Heavy axion-like particles and core-collapse supernovae: constraints and impact on the explosion mechanism

Heavy axion-like particles (ALPs), with masses ma ≳ 100 keV, coupled with photons, would be copiously produced in a supernova (SN) core via Primakoff process and photon coalescence. Using a state-of-the-art SN model, we revisit the energy-loss SN 1987A bounds on axion-photon coupling. Moreover, we point out that heavy ALPs with masses ma ≳ 100 MeV and axion-photon coupling gaγ ≳ 4 × 10−9 GeV−1 would decay into photons behind the shock-wave producing a possible enhancement in the energy deposition that would boost the SN shock revival.

Bounds on axionlike particles from the diffuse supernova flux

The cumulative emission of Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) from all past core-collapse supernovae (SNe) would lead to a diffuse flux with energies ${\mathcal O}(50)$ MeV. We use this to constrain ALPs featuring couplings to photons and to nucleons. ALPs coupled only to photons are produced in the SN core via the Primakoff process, and then converted into gamma rays in the Galactic magnetic field. We set a bound on $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 5 \times 10^{-10}~{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ for $m_a \lesssim 10^{-11}~{\rm eV}$, using recent measurements of the diffuse gamma-ray flux observed by the Fermi-LAT telescope. However, if ALPs couple also with nucleons, their production rate in SN can be considerably enhanced due to the ALPs nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung process. Assuming the largest ALP-nucleon coupling phenomenologically allowed, bounds on the diffuse gamma-ray flux lead to a much stronger $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 6 \times 10^{-13}~{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ for the same mass range. If ALPs are heavier than $\sim$ keV, the decay into photons becomes significant, leading again to a diffuse gamma-ray flux. In the case of only photon coupling, we find, e.g. $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 5 \times 10^{-11}~{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ for $m_a \sim 5~{\rm keV}$. Allowing for a (maximal) coupling to nucleons, the limit improves to the level of $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 10^{-19}~{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ for $m_a \sim 20~{\rm MeV}$, which represents the strongest constraint to date.

Reexamining the Solar Axion Explanation for the XENON1T Excess.

The XENON1T collaboration has observed an excess in electronic recoil events below 5keV over the known background, which could originate from beyond-the-standard-model physics. The solar axion is a well-motivated model that has been proposed to explain the excess, though it has tension with astrophysical observations. The axions traveling from the Sun can be absorbed by the electrons in the xenon atoms via the axion-electron coupling. Meanwhile, they can also scatter with the atoms through the inverse Primakoff process via the axion-photon coupling, which emits a photon and mimics the electronic recoil signals. We found that the latter process cannot be neglected. After including the keV photon produced via the inverse Primakoff process in the detection, the tension with the astrophysical constraints can be significantly reduced. We also explore scenarios involving additional new physics to further alleviate the tension with the astrophysical bounds.

Search for Axionlike-Particle-Induced Prompt γ-Ray Emission from Extragalactic Core-Collapse Supernovae with the Fermi Large Area Telescope.

During a core-collapse supernova (SN), axionlike particles (ALPs) could be produced through the Primakoff process and subsequently convert into γ rays in the magnetic field of the MilkyWay. We do not find evidence for such a γ-ray burst in observations of extragalactic SNe with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The SN explosion times are estimated from optical light curves and we find a probability of about ∼90% that the LAT observed at least one SN at the time of the core collapse. Under the assumption that at least one SN was contained within the LAT field of view, we exclude photon-ALP couplings ≳2.6×10^{-12} GeV^{-1} for ALP masses m_{a}≲3×10^{-10} eV, improving previous limits from SN1987A by a factor of 2.

Axionlike particles at FASER: The LHC as a photon beam dump

The goal of FASER, ForwArd Search ExpeRiment at the LHC, is to discover light, weakly-interacting particles with a small and inexpensive detector placed in the far-forward region of ATLAS or CMS. A promising location in an unused service tunnel 480 m downstream of the ATLAS interaction point (IP) has been identified. Previous studies have found that FASER has significant discovery potential for new particles produced at the IP, including dark photons, dark Higgs bosons, and heavy neutral leptons. In this study, we explore a qualitatively different, `beam dump' capability of FASER, in which the new particles are produced not at the IP, but through collisions in detector elements further downstream. In particular, we consider the discovery prospects for axion-like particles (ALPs) that couple to the standard model through the $a \gamma \gamma$ interaction. TeV-scale photons produced at the IP collide with the TAN neutral particle absorber 130 m downstream, producing ALPs through the Primakoff process, and the ALPs then decay to two photons in FASER. We show that FASER can discover ALPs with masses $m_a \sim 30 - 400~\text{MeV}$ and couplings $g_{a\gamma\gamma} \sim 10^{-6} - 10^{-3}~\text{GeV}^{-1}$, and we discuss the ALP signal characteristics and detector requirements.

Dark photon relic dark matter production through the dark axion portal

We present a new mechanism to produce the dark photon ($\gamma'$) in the early universe with a help of the axion ($a$) using a recently proposed dark axion portal. The dark photon, a light gauge boson in the dark sector, can be a relic dark matter if its lifetime is long enough. The main process we consider is a variant of the Primakoff process $f a \to f \gamma'$ mediated by a photon, which is possible with the axion--photon--dark photon coupling. The axion is thermalized in the early universe because of the strong interaction and it can contribute to the non-thermal dark photon production through the dark axion portal coupling. It provides a two-component dark matter sector, and the relic density deficit issue of the axion dark matter can be addressed by the compensation with the dark photon. The dark photon dark matter can also address the reported 3.5 keV $X$-ray excess via the $\gamma' \to \gamma a$ decay.

Fermi Large Area Telescope as a Galactic Supernovae Axionscope.

In a Galactic core-collapse supernova (SN), axionlike particles (ALPs) could be emitted via the Primakoff process and eventually convert into γ rays in the magnetic field of the MilkyWay. From a data-driven sensitivity estimate, we find that, for a SN exploding in our Galaxy, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) would be able to explore the photon-ALP coupling down to g_{aγ}≃2×10^{-13} GeV^{-1} for an ALP mass m_{a}≲10^{-9} eV. These values are out of reach of next generation laboratory experiments. In this event, the Fermi LAT would probe large regions of the ALP parameter space invoked to explain the anomalous transparency of the Universe to γ rays, stellar cooling anomalies, and cold dark matter. If no γ-ray emission were to be detected, Fermi-LAT observations would improve current bounds derived from SN 1987A by more than 1 order of magnitude.