Projected bounds on ALPs from Athena

Abstract

Galaxy clusters represent excellent laboratories to search for Axion-Like Particles (ALPs). They contain magnetic fields which can induce quasi-sinusoidal oscillations in the X-ray spectra of AGNs situated in or behind them. Due to its excellent energy resolution, the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) instrument onboard the Athena X-ray Observatory will be far more sensitive to ALP-induced modulations than current detectors. As a first analysis of the sensitivity of Athena to the ALP-photon coupling $g_{a\gamma \gamma }$, we simulate observations of the Seyfert galaxy NGC1275 in the Perseus cluster using the SIXTE simulation software. We estimate that for a 200ks exposure, a non-observation of spectral modulations will constrain $g_{a\gamma \gamma }\lesssim 1.5\times 10^{-13}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$ for $m_a\lesssim 10^{-12}\mathrm{eV}$, representing an order of magnitude improvement over constraints derived using the current generation of satellites.

5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted to MNRAS

References in corpus (23)

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Cited by in corpus (23)

• Grand Unified Neutrino Spectrum at Earth: Sources and Spectral Components
• Optical Ring Cavity Search for Axion Dark Matter
• New constraints on light Axion-Like Particles using Chandra Transmission Grating Spectroscopy of the powerful cluster-hosted quasar H1821+643
• Axion Dark Matter Search with Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors
• Detection of isotropic cosmic birefringence and its implications for axion-like particles including dark energy
• On String Theory Expectations for Photon Couplings to Axion-Like Particles
• Constraining the photon coupling of ultra-light dark-matter axion-like particles by polarization variations of parsec-scale jets in active galaxies
• Probing Axion-like Particles via CMB Polarization
• Fate of scalar dark matter solitons around supermassive galactic black holes
• Implications of the Cosmic Birefringence Measurement for the Axion Dark Matter Search
• Constraints on anharmonic corrections of Fuzzy Dark Matter
• Impact of kinetic and potential self-interactions on scalar dark matter
• Axion dark matter search using arm cavity transmitted beams of gravitational wave detectors
• Searching for Axion-Like Particles with X-ray Polarimeters
• Updated Bounds on Axion-Like Particles from X-ray Observations
• Constraints on Massive Axion-Like Particles from X-ray Observations of NGC1275
• Probing Axions via Light Circular Polarization and Event Horizon Telescope
• Improving Statistical Sensitivity of X-ray Searches for Axion-Like Particles
• Accelerating the search for Axion-Like Particles with machine learning
• Constraining Ultra-light Axions with Galaxy Cluster Number Counts
• Physics Beyond the Standard Model with Future X-ray Observatories: Projected Constraints on Very-Light Axion-Like Particles with $Athena$ and $AXIS$
• Magnetohydrodynamics predicts heavy-tailed distributions of axion-photon conversion
• How do Magnetic Field Models Affect Astrophysical Limits on Light Axion-like Particles? An X-ray Case Study with NGC 1275