Axion-like particles and the propagation of gamma rays over astronomical distances

Abstract

In this mini-review, possible manifestations of mixing between axion-like particles (ALPs) and energetic photons propagating over astronomical distances are considered. We discuss the evidence for the anomalous transparency of the Universe from observations of ensembles of distant gamma-ray sources, present the general formalism for the ALP-photon mixing and explain how this mechanism may remove the anomaly. We present relevant values of ALP parameters and discuss future ways to verify the scenario and to discover the particle in question.

6 pages, 1 figure. Invited mini-review to be published in JETP Letters. V2: misprints and sqrt(4*pi) factors in Gauss to eV conversion corrected; conclusions unchanged

References in corpus (10)

• Revisiting the bound on axion-photon coupling from Globular Clusters
• Very-High-Energy Gamma Rays from a Distant Quasar: How Transparent Is the Universe?
• Revisiting the SN1987A gamma-ray limit on ultralight axion-like particles
• MAGIC discovery of VHE Emission from the FSRQ PKS 1222+21
• Evidence for a new light spin-zero boson from cosmological gamma-ray propagation?
• The Imprint of The Extragalactic Background Light in the Gamma-Ray Spectra of Blazars
• The Milky Way as a Kiloparsec-Scale Axionscope
• The Resolved NIR Extragalactic Background
• The Resolved Near-Infrared Extragalactic Background
• Deep Broadband Observations of the Distant Gamma-ray Blazar PKS 1424+240

Cited by in corpus (15)

• Constraining the photon coupling of ultra-light dark-matter axion-like particles by polarization variations of parsec-scale jets in active galaxies
• On the impact of magnetic-field models in galaxy clusters on constraints on axion-like particles from the lack of irregularities in high-energy spectra of astrophysical sources
• Parameters of axion-like particles required to explain high-energy photons from GRB 221009A
• Towards a medium-scale axion helioscope and haloscope
• GRB 221009A Gamma Rays from Radiative Decay of Heavy Neutrinos?
• Towards a model of photon-axion conversion in the host galaxy of GRB 221009A
• Search for astrophysical PeV gamma rays from point sources with Carpet-2
• Carpet-2 search for PeV gamma rays associated with IceCube high-energy neutrino events
• Constraining the star formation rate with the extragalactic background light
• Carpet-2 search for gamma rays above 100 TeV in coincidence with HAWC and IceCube alerts
• The local-filament pattern in the anomalous transparency of the Universe for energetic gamma rays
• Search for anomalous features in gamma-ray blazar spectra corrected for the absorption on the extragalactic background light
• Stellar evolution and axion-like particles: new constraints and hints from globular clusters in the GAIA DR3 data
• Testing new-physics scenarios with the combined LHAASO and Carpet-3 fluence spectrum of GRB 221009A: axion-like particles and Lorentz-invariance violation
• Upper limits on the isotropic diffuse flux of cosmic PeV photons from Carpet-2 observations