Improving Statistical Sensitivity of X-ray Searches for Axion-Like Particles

Abstract

X-ray observations of bright AGNs in or behind galaxy clusters offer unique capabilities to constrain axion-like particles (ALPs). Existing analysis technique rely on measurements of the global goodness-of-fit. We develop a new analysis methodology that improves the statistical sensitivity to ALP-photon oscillations by isolating the characteristic quasi-sinusoidal modulations induced by ALPs. This involves analysing residuals in wavelength space allowing the Fourier structure to be made manifest as well as a machine learning approach. For telescopes with microcalorimeter resolution, simulations suggest these methods give an additional factor of two in sensitivity to ALPs compared to previous approaches.

8 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (7)

• The photo-philic QCD axion
• Magnetic Fields in the Center of the Perseus Cluster
• Active Galactic Nuclei Shed Light on Axion-like-Particles
• Irregularity in gamma ray source spectra as a signature of axionlike particles
• Gamma-ray spectral modulations of Galactic pulsars caused by photon-ALPs mixing
• Projected bounds on ALPs from Athena
• Constraints on Massive Axion-Like Particles from X-ray Observations of NGC1275

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Updated constraints on axion-like particles from temporal information in supernova SN1987A gamma-ray data
• The Fourier formalism for relativistic axion-photon conversion, with astrophysical applications
• Axions: From Magnetars and Neutron Star Mergers to Beam Dumps and BECs
• On the origin and the detection of characteristic axion wiggles in photon spectra
• Updated Bounds on Axion-Like Particles from X-ray Observations
• Accelerating the search for Axion-Like Particles with machine learning
• Magnetohydrodynamics predicts heavy-tailed distributions of axion-photon conversion
• Physics Beyond the Standard Model with Future X-ray Observatories: Projected Constraints on Very-Light Axion-Like Particles with $Athena$ and $AXIS$
• How do Magnetic Field Models Affect Astrophysical Limits on Light Axion-like Particles? An X-ray Case Study with NGC 1275