Abstract
Axion dark matter (DM) may convert to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation in the strong magnetic fields around neutron stars. The radio signature of such a process would be an ultranarrow spectral peak at a frequency determined by the mass of the axion particle. We analyze data we collected from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in the band and the Effelsberg 100-m Telescope in the band and band from a number of sources expected to produce bright signals of axion-photon conversion, including the Galactic center of the Milky Way and the nearby isolated neutron stars RX J0720.4-3125 and RX J0806.4-4123. We find no evidence for axion DM and are able to set constraints on the existence of axion DM in the highly motivated mass range between and with the strongest constraints to date on axions in the range.
- Received 14 May 2020
- Revised 26 July 2020
- Accepted 17 September 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.171301
© 2020 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
Looking for Dark Matter in Neutron Star Light
Published 20 October 2020
Radio observations of neutron stars demonstrate a way to search for axions through their expected conversion to electromagnetic waves in a star’s magnetic field.
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