Search for Axion-Like Particles in High-Magnetic-Field Pulsars with NICER
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866917258507321344 |
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| author | Liu, Yen-Jhen Yang, Yi |
| author_facet | Liu, Yen-Jhen Yang, Yi |
| contents | Axion-like particles (ALPs) can couple to photons in strong magnetic fields, producing characteristic fluctuations in X-ray spectra. Using data from NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we analyzed three pulsars: PSR J2229+6114, PSR J1849-0001, and PSR B0531+21, to search for such features. Each spectrum was modeled with a sliding-window power-law fitting method to identify local deviations from the smooth continuum. From these analyses, we derived constraints on the axion-photon coupling constant $g_{aγγ}$ assuming dipole and quadrupole magnetic field distributions. We obtain upper limits in the range $10^{-10}$--$10^{-13}\,\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ for ALP masses in the $0.8$--$10~\mathrm{keV}$ region. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_03316 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Search for Axion-Like Particles in High-Magnetic-Field Pulsars with NICER Liu, Yen-Jhen Yang, Yi High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena High Energy Physics - Experiment Axion-like particles (ALPs) can couple to photons in strong magnetic fields, producing characteristic fluctuations in X-ray spectra. Using data from NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), we analyzed three pulsars: PSR J2229+6114, PSR J1849-0001, and PSR B0531+21, to search for such features. Each spectrum was modeled with a sliding-window power-law fitting method to identify local deviations from the smooth continuum. From these analyses, we derived constraints on the axion-photon coupling constant $g_{aγγ}$ assuming dipole and quadrupole magnetic field distributions. We obtain upper limits in the range $10^{-10}$--$10^{-13}\,\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ for ALP masses in the $0.8$--$10~\mathrm{keV}$ region. |
| title | Search for Axion-Like Particles in High-Magnetic-Field Pulsars with NICER |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena High Energy Physics - Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.03316 |