Gravitational Signatures of Axion Dark Matter via Parity-Violating Interactions

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Figliolia, Marco, Grippa, Francesco, Lambiase, Gaetano, Visinelli, Luca
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866918288687104000
author Figliolia, Marco
Grippa, Francesco
Lambiase, Gaetano
Visinelli, Luca
author_facet Figliolia, Marco
Grippa, Francesco
Lambiase, Gaetano
Visinelli, Luca
contents We investigate axion-like particles coupled to gravity through a parity-violating Chern-Simons (CS) interaction. In this framework, axion dark matter (DM) can decay into pairs of circularly polarized gravitons, producing a persistent, nearly monochromatic GW signal. We compute the expected signal at Earth assuming a Navarro-Frenk-White Galactic halo model with the corresponding velocity distribution, and compare it with the narrowband sensitivities of the LIGO O4 run and the projected reach of the Einstein Telescope. The resulting bounds on the axion-graviton coupling $α$ improve upon the cosmological stability requirement for axion masses $m_ϕ\lesssim 10^{-11}$ eV, excluding values up to four orders of magnitude below the stability limit. This constitutes a robust direct terrestrial constraint on the axion-gravity CS coupling. We also discuss distinctive observational signatures, such as circular polarization asymmetries, annual modulation, and potential enhancements from DM substructures, which could serve as smoking-gun evidence for parity-violating gravitational interactions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_12038
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gravitational Signatures of Axion Dark Matter via Parity-Violating Interactions
Figliolia, Marco
Grippa, Francesco
Lambiase, Gaetano
Visinelli, Luca
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
We investigate axion-like particles coupled to gravity through a parity-violating Chern-Simons (CS) interaction. In this framework, axion dark matter (DM) can decay into pairs of circularly polarized gravitons, producing a persistent, nearly monochromatic GW signal. We compute the expected signal at Earth assuming a Navarro-Frenk-White Galactic halo model with the corresponding velocity distribution, and compare it with the narrowband sensitivities of the LIGO O4 run and the projected reach of the Einstein Telescope. The resulting bounds on the axion-graviton coupling $α$ improve upon the cosmological stability requirement for axion masses $m_ϕ\lesssim 10^{-11}$ eV, excluding values up to four orders of magnitude below the stability limit. This constitutes a robust direct terrestrial constraint on the axion-gravity CS coupling. We also discuss distinctive observational signatures, such as circular polarization asymmetries, annual modulation, and potential enhancements from DM substructures, which could serve as smoking-gun evidence for parity-violating gravitational interactions.
title Gravitational Signatures of Axion Dark Matter via Parity-Violating Interactions
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.12038