From Supernovae to Neutron Stars: A Systematic Approach to Axion Production at Finite Density

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Springmann, Konstantin, Stadlbauer, Michael, Stelzl, Stefan, Weiler, Andreas
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866913712098508800
author Springmann, Konstantin
Stadlbauer, Michael
Stelzl, Stefan
Weiler, Andreas
author_facet Springmann, Konstantin
Stadlbauer, Michael
Stelzl, Stefan
Weiler, Andreas
contents We present a systematic study of QCD axion production in environments with finite baryon density and temperature, implying significant changes to axion phenomenology. Within heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory, we derive the effective Lagrangian describing axion interactions with nucleons and mesons up to next-to-leading-order in the chiral expansion. We focus on corrections to the axion-nucleon couplings from higher orders and finite density. These couplings are modified by up to an order of magnitude near nuclear saturation density, significantly impacting axion production in supernovae and neutron stars. Density-dependent corrections enhance the axion luminosity in supernovae by an order of magnitude, strengthening current best bounds by a factor of three. We stress the importance of including all axion production channels up to a given chiral order for a consistent luminosity calculation and classify the missing contributions up to the third chiral order. The modified axion-nucleon couplings also affect neutron star cooling rates via axion emission. A re-evaluation of existing neutron star cooling bounds, constrained to regions where perturbative control is reliable, weakens these bounds by a factor of four. Lastly, our results have implications for terrestrial axion searches that rely on precise knowledge of axion-nucleon couplings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_10945
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Supernovae to Neutron Stars: A Systematic Approach to Axion Production at Finite Density
Springmann, Konstantin
Stadlbauer, Michael
Stelzl, Stefan
Weiler, Andreas
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Nuclear Theory
We present a systematic study of QCD axion production in environments with finite baryon density and temperature, implying significant changes to axion phenomenology. Within heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory, we derive the effective Lagrangian describing axion interactions with nucleons and mesons up to next-to-leading-order in the chiral expansion. We focus on corrections to the axion-nucleon couplings from higher orders and finite density. These couplings are modified by up to an order of magnitude near nuclear saturation density, significantly impacting axion production in supernovae and neutron stars. Density-dependent corrections enhance the axion luminosity in supernovae by an order of magnitude, strengthening current best bounds by a factor of three. We stress the importance of including all axion production channels up to a given chiral order for a consistent luminosity calculation and classify the missing contributions up to the third chiral order. The modified axion-nucleon couplings also affect neutron star cooling rates via axion emission. A re-evaluation of existing neutron star cooling bounds, constrained to regions where perturbative control is reliable, weakens these bounds by a factor of four. Lastly, our results have implications for terrestrial axion searches that rely on precise knowledge of axion-nucleon couplings.
title From Supernovae to Neutron Stars: A Systematic Approach to Axion Production at Finite Density
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.10945