Abstract
We show that XENON1T and future liquid xenon (LXe) direct detection experiments are sensitive to axions through the standard operators due to inverse-Primakoff scattering. This previously neglected channel significantly improves the sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling, with a reach extending to for axion masses up to a keV, thereby extending into the region of heavier QCD axion models. This result modifies the couplings required to explain the XENON1T excess in terms of solar axions, opening a large region of parameter space that is not ruled out by the CAST helioscope experiment and reducing the tension with the astrophysical constraints. We explore the sensitivity to solar axions for future generations of LXe detectors that can exceed future helioscope experiments, such as IAXO, for a large region of parameter space.
- Received 29 June 2020
- Revised 31 July 2020
- Accepted 19 August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.131805
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