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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22273 |
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| _version_ | 1866908561198546944 |
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| author | Arcari, S. Bartolo, N. Fabbian, G. Greco, A. Gruppuso, A. Lattanzi, M. Natoli, P. Pagano, L. Zagatti, G. |
| author_facet | Arcari, S. Bartolo, N. Fabbian, G. Greco, A. Gruppuso, A. Lattanzi, M. Natoli, P. Pagano, L. Zagatti, G. |
| contents | We present the first measurement of the cross-correlation between anisotropic birefringence and galaxy number counts, utilizing polarization data from Planck NPIPE and the Quaia quasar catalog. By employing a QML/pseudo-$C_\ell$ combined estimator, we compute the angular power spectrum up to $\ell=191$ from birefringence and clustering maps at $N_{\rm side}=64$. Our analysis indicates that the observed spectrum is well consistent with the null-hypothesis, with a probability to exceed of 37% and an estimated scale-invariant amplitude of $A^{\mathcal{D}_\ell}=(2.22\pm2.09)\times10^{-4}\,\text{deg}$, at the 68% confidence level. Finally, we derive constraints on the axion-parameters within an early dark energy model of birefringence. Our findings reveal an unprecedented upper bound on the axion-photon coupling down to $g_{ϕγ}=10^{-15}\,\text{GeV}^{-1}$ for masses around $10^{-32}\,\text{eV}$ and high initial misalignment angles. This result opens a previously unexplored window in parameter space, providing the first constraint in this ultra-light mass regime. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_22273 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Stairway to Axions: the cross-correlation of birefringence and galaxies from NPIPE and Quaia Arcari, S. Bartolo, N. Fabbian, G. Greco, A. Gruppuso, A. Lattanzi, M. Natoli, P. Pagano, L. Zagatti, G. Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Phenomenology We present the first measurement of the cross-correlation between anisotropic birefringence and galaxy number counts, utilizing polarization data from Planck NPIPE and the Quaia quasar catalog. By employing a QML/pseudo-$C_\ell$ combined estimator, we compute the angular power spectrum up to $\ell=191$ from birefringence and clustering maps at $N_{\rm side}=64$. Our analysis indicates that the observed spectrum is well consistent with the null-hypothesis, with a probability to exceed of 37% and an estimated scale-invariant amplitude of $A^{\mathcal{D}_\ell}=(2.22\pm2.09)\times10^{-4}\,\text{deg}$, at the 68% confidence level. Finally, we derive constraints on the axion-parameters within an early dark energy model of birefringence. Our findings reveal an unprecedented upper bound on the axion-photon coupling down to $g_{ϕγ}=10^{-15}\,\text{GeV}^{-1}$ for masses around $10^{-32}\,\text{eV}$ and high initial misalignment angles. This result opens a previously unexplored window in parameter space, providing the first constraint in this ultra-light mass regime. |
| title | Stairway to Axions: the cross-correlation of birefringence and galaxies from NPIPE and Quaia |
| topic | Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22273 |