Probing axion-like particles through the gamma-ray production from cosmic-ray scattering in the Milky Way dark matter halo

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Main Authors: Goncalves, Victor P., Moulin, Emmanuel, Reis, Igor, Viana, Aion
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Goncalves, Victor P.
Moulin, Emmanuel
Reis, Igor
Viana, Aion
author_facet Goncalves, Victor P.
Moulin, Emmanuel
Reis, Igor
Viana, Aion
contents Axion-like particles (ALP) are promising candidates to comprise all the dark matter in the universe. We investigate the ALP couplings to photons and electrons via astrophysical measurements through the search for very-high-energy gamma rays arising from high-energy cosmic-ray scattering off ALP populating the halo of the Milky Way. We show that gamma-ray signals from ALP couplings to photons and electrons via inverse Primakoff and Compton processes respectively, can be probed by very-high-energy ($\gtrsim$100 GeV) gamma-ray ground-based observatories, providing an alternative and complementary avenue to probe ALP couplings in the eV mass range. Sensitivities of current and near-future ground-based gamma-ray observatories improves upon one order of magnitude the current constraints from gamma-ray satellite experiments for the ALP-photon couplings in the region of masses below 10$^{-9}$ GeV. Their sensitivities reached on the ALP-electron couplings allow probing masses below 10$^{-8}$ GeV, which are lower than the masses probed in gamma-ray satellite experiments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_11691
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing axion-like particles through the gamma-ray production from cosmic-ray scattering in the Milky Way dark matter halo
Goncalves, Victor P.
Moulin, Emmanuel
Reis, Igor
Viana, Aion
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Axion-like particles (ALP) are promising candidates to comprise all the dark matter in the universe. We investigate the ALP couplings to photons and electrons via astrophysical measurements through the search for very-high-energy gamma rays arising from high-energy cosmic-ray scattering off ALP populating the halo of the Milky Way. We show that gamma-ray signals from ALP couplings to photons and electrons via inverse Primakoff and Compton processes respectively, can be probed by very-high-energy ($\gtrsim$100 GeV) gamma-ray ground-based observatories, providing an alternative and complementary avenue to probe ALP couplings in the eV mass range. Sensitivities of current and near-future ground-based gamma-ray observatories improves upon one order of magnitude the current constraints from gamma-ray satellite experiments for the ALP-photon couplings in the region of masses below 10$^{-9}$ GeV. Their sensitivities reached on the ALP-electron couplings allow probing masses below 10$^{-8}$ GeV, which are lower than the masses probed in gamma-ray satellite experiments.
title Probing axion-like particles through the gamma-ray production from cosmic-ray scattering in the Milky Way dark matter halo
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.11691