High Energy Physics Seminar

Axions are a well-motivated extension to the Standard Model and among the best candidates to explain dark matter. Their detection is made difficult by the fact that they couple very weakly to particles in the Standard Model. High-energy astrophysical settings host extreme conditions wherein axions may be produced in great abundance. In this talk, I will discuss axion production in the highly magnetized plasma surrounding compact objects, particularly neutron stars. Once produced, axions may re-convert to photons, leading to anomalous emission. Radio observations of nearby pulsars can place stringent constraints on the axion-photon coupling that improve upon existing bounds by orders of magnitude for a range of axion masses. Additionally, axion production around neutron stars may provide an explanation for the mysterious Fast Radio Bursts observed by several radio missions, including the STARE2 collaboration at Caltech. I will conclude by commenting on the detection prospects for these pulsar-sourced axions using upcoming axion dark matter detection experiments. 

The talk is in 469 Lauritsen.

Contact [email protected] for Zoom information