• Editors' Suggestion
  • Open Access

Cosmic axion background

Jeff A. Dror, Hitoshi Murayama, and Nicholas L. Rodd
Phys. Rev. D 103, 115004 – Published 7 June 2021; Erratum Phys. Rev. D 106, 119902 (2022)

Abstract

Existing searches for cosmic axions relics have relied heavily on the axion being nonrelativistic and making up dark matter. However, light axions can be copiously produced in the early Universe and remain relativistic today, thereby constituting a Cosmic axion Background (CaB). As prototypical examples of axion sources, we consider thermal production, dark-matter decay, parametric resonance, and topological defect decay. Each of these has a characteristic frequency spectrum that can be searched for in axion direct detection experiments. We focus on the axion-photon coupling and study the sensitivity of current and future versions of ADMX, HAYSTAC, DMRadio, and ABRACADABRA to a CaB, finding that the data collected in search of dark matter can be repurposed to detect axion energy densities well below limits set by measurements of the energy budget of the Universe. In this way, direct detection of relativistic relics offers a powerful new opportunity to learn about the early Universe and, potentially, discover the axion.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
4 More
  • Received 16 February 2021
  • Accepted 10 May 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.103.115004

Published 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 Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

  1. Research Areas
  1. Physical Systems
Particles & Fields

Erratum

Erratum: Cosmic axion background [Phys. Rev. D 103, 115004 (2021)]

Jeff A. Dror, Hitoshi Murayama, and Nicholas L. Rodd
Phys. Rev. D 106, 119902 (2022)

Authors & Affiliations

Jeff A. Dror1,2,3,*, Hitoshi Murayama2,3,4,†, and Nicholas L. Rodd2,3,‡

  • 1Department of Physics and Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
  • 2Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 3Theory Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 4Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8583, Japan

  • *jdror1@ucsc.edu
  • hitoshi@berkeley.edu; hitoshi.murayama@ipmu.jp
  • nrodd@berkeley.edu

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 11 — 1 June 2021

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×