Searching for spectral oscillations due to photon-axionlike particle conversion using the Fermi-LAT observations of bright supernova remnants

Abstract

Axionlike-particles (ALPs) are one promising type of dark matter candidate particle that may generate detectable effects on $\gamma$-ray spectra other than the canonical weakly interacting massive particles. In this work we search for such oscillation effects in the spectra of supernova remnants caused by the photon-ALP conversion, using the Fermi Large Area Telescope data. Three bright supernova remnants, IC443, W44, and W51C, are analyzed. The inclusion of photon-ALP oscillations yields an improved fit to the $\gamma$-ray spectrum of IC443, which gives a statistical significance of $4.2\sigma$ in favor of such spectral oscillation. However, the best-fit parameters of ALPs ($m_a=6.6\mathrm{neV}$, $g_{a\gamma }=13.4\times 10^{-11}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$) are in tension with the upper bound ($g_{a\gamma }<6.6\times 10^{-11}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$) set by the CAST experiment. It is difficult to explain the results using the systematic uncertainties of the flux measurements. We speculate that the "irregularity" displayed in the spectrum of IC443 may be due to the superposition of the emission from different parts of the remnant.

References in corpus (13)

• Detection of the Characteristic Pion-Decay Signature in Supernova Remnants
• Direct detection of a break in the teraelectronvolt cosmic-ray spectrum of electrons and positrons
• Revisiting the bound on axion-photon coupling from Globular Clusters
• Radio observational constraints on Galactic 3D-emission models
• The DArk Matter Particle Explorer mission
• The Milky Way as a Kiloparsec-Scale Axionscope
• Hints of the existence of Axion-Like-Particles from the gamma-ray spectra of cosmological sources
• Detecting Axion-Like Particles With Gamma Ray Telescopes
• The Fermi Large Area Telescope as a Galactic Supernovae Axionscope
• Axion-Like Particles, Cosmic Magnetic Fields and Gamma-Ray Astrophysics
• Effects of Axion-Photon Mixing on Gamma-Ray Spectra from Magnetized Astrophysical Sources
• No Indications of Axion-Like Particles From Fermi
• Spectral modulation of non-Galactic plane Gamma-ray pulsars due to photon-ALPs mixing in Galactic magnetic field

Cited by in corpus (22)

• 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
• Constraints on axion-like particle properties with very high energy gamma-ray observations of Galactic sources
• Turbulent axion-photon conversions in the Milky-Way
• Gamma-ray spectral modulations of Galactic pulsars caused by photon-ALPs mixing
• Testing the ALP-photon coupling with polarization measurements of Sagittarius A*
• Revisiting the analysis of axion-like particles with the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observation of NGC1275
• The Fourier formalism for relativistic axion-photon conversion, with astrophysical applications
• Gamma-ray Cosmology and Tests of Fundamental Physics
• Searching for the possible signal of the photon-axionlike particle oscillation in the combined GeV and TeV spectra of supernova remnants
• Gravitational waves and neutrino oscillations in Chern-Simons axion gravity
• Gamma-ray spectral modulations induced by photon-ALP-dark photon oscillations
• Constraining axion-like particles with the diffuse gamma-ray flux measured by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory
• Simulation study of performance of the Very Large Area gamma-ray Space Telescope
• Constraints on Axion-like Particles from the Observation of GRB 221009A by LHAASO
• Reconciling hints on axion-like-particles from high-energy gamma rays with stellar bounds
• Constraints on Axion-like Particles from Observations of Mrk 421 using the $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{s}}$ Method
• Axion-Like Particle Searches with IACTs
• A possible blazar spectral irregularity case caused by photon--axionlike-particle oscillations
• Constraining Axion-Like Particles Dark Matter in Coma Berenices with FAST
• Constraints on Axion-like Particles from the gamma-ray observation of the Galactic Center
• Dark Matter and Fundamental Physics Searches with IACTs
• Searching for Axion-Like Particles with X-ray Observations of Alpha Centauri