Extraterrestrial Axion Search with the Breakthrough Listen Galactic Center Survey

Abstract

Axion dark matter (DM) may efficiently convert to photons in the magnetospheres of neutron stars (NSs), producing nearly monochromatic radio emission. This process is resonantly triggered when the plasma frequency induced by the underlying charge distribution approximately matches the axion mass. We search for evidence of this process using archival Green Bank Telescope data collected in a survey of the Galactic Center in the C-Band by the Breakthrough Listen project. While Breakthrough Listen aims to find signatures of extraterrestrial life in the radio band, we show that their high-frequency resolution spectral data of the Galactic Center region is ideal for searching for axion-photon transitions generated by the population of NSs in the inner pc of the Galaxy. We use data-driven models to capture the distributions and properties of NSs in the inner Galaxy and compute the expected radio flux from each NS using state-of-the-art ray tracing simulations. We find no evidence for axion DM and set leading constraints on the axion-photon coupling, excluding values down to the level $g_{a\gamma \gamma }\sim 10^{-11}$ GeV${}^{-1}$ for DM axions for masses between 15 and 35 $\mu$eV.

arXiv comment9+23 pages, 3+17 figures

References in corpus (90)

• A Universal Density Profile from Hierarchical Clustering
• The Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos
• The EAGLE project: Simulating the evolution and assembly of galaxies and their environments
• The ATNF Pulsar Catalogue
• Asymptotic formulae for likelihood-based tests of new physics
• Axion Cosmology
• String Axiverse
• Monitoring stellar orbits around the Massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center
• Axions In String Theory
• Small-Scale Challenges to the $\Lambda$CDM Paradigm
• FIRE-2 Simulations: Physics versus Numerics in Galaxy Formation
• New CAST Limit on the Axion-Photon Interaction
• Birth and Evolution of Isolated Radio Pulsars
• A Search for Invisible Axion Dark Matter with the Axion Dark Matter Experiment
• The APOSTLE simulations: solutions to the Local Group's cosmic puzzles
• Mass Limits For Black Hole Formation
• The Auriga Project: the properties and formation mechanisms of disc galaxies across cosmic time
• Extended Search for the Invisible Axion with the Axion Dark Matter Experiment
• Unifying the observational diversity of isolated neutron stars via magneto-thermal evolution models
• A quantum-enhanced search for dark matter axions
• An Extremely Top-Heavy IMF in the Galactic Center Stellar Disks
• The Milky Way total mass profile as inferred from Gaia DR2
• Measurement of Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel in $pp$ collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector
• Results from phase 1 of the HAYSTAC microwave cavity axion experiment
• Stellar Populations in the Central 0.5 pc of the Galaxy II: The Initial Mass Function
• Axions from Strings: the Attractive Solution
• More Axions from Strings
• Search for "Invisible" Axion Dark Matter in the $3.3\text{-}4.2\mu$eV Mass Range
• Stellar remnants in galactic nuclei: mass segregation
• NuSTAR discovery of a 3.76-second transient magnetar near Sagittarius A*
• Early-Universe Simulations of the Cosmological Axion
• Dark Matter from Axion Strings with Adaptive Mesh Refinement
• Magnetic Field Evolution in Neutron Star Crusts due to the Hall Effect and Ohmic Decay
• The APOSTLE project: Local Group kinematic mass constraints and simulation candidate selection
• Redefining the Axion Window
• Co-Evolution of Galactic Nuclei and Globular Cluster Systems
• Star formation rates and efficiencies in the Galactic Centre
• The dark-matter axion mass
• Magnetic field dissipation in neutron star crusts: from magnetars to isolated neutron stars
• Ab-initio pulsar magnetosphere: three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of oblique pulsars
• A highly resistive layer within the crust of X-ray pulsars limits their spin periods
• Radio Signals from Axion Dark Matter Conversion in Neutron Star Magnetospheres
• The Intrinsic Size of Sagittarius A* from 0.35 cm to 6 cm
• The star formation history of the Milky Way's Nuclear Star Cluster
• Swift Discovery of a New Soft Gamma Repeater, SGR J1745-29, near Sagittarius A*
• Time evolution of pulsar obliquity angle from 3D simulations of magnetospheres
• Population synthesis studies of isolated neutron stars with magnetic field decay
• The photo-philic QCD axion
• A Dynamical Model for the Formation of Gas Rings and Episodic Starbursts Near Galactic Centres
• Hall Effect in Neutron Star Crusts: Evolution, Endpoint and Dependence on Initial Conditions
• Formation Rates and Evolution Histories of Magnetars
• Pulsar braking and the P-Pdot diagram
• The radio telescope search for the resonant conversion of cold dark matter axions from the magnetized astrophysical sources
• A deep search for decaying dark matter with XMM-Newton blank-sky observations
• A strongly magnetized pulsar within grasp of the Milky Way's supermassive black hole
• Detecting Axion Dark Matter with Radio Lines from Neutron Star Populations
• Stellar Populations in the Central 0.5 pc of the Galaxy I: A New Method for Constructing Luminosity Functions and Surface-Density Profiles
• An Overabundance of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries in the Galactic Center from Tidal Captures
• Conversion of Dark matter axions to photons in magnetospheres of neutron stars
• A Dynamical Model for Gas Flows, Star Formation, and Nuclear Winds in Galactic Centres
• Green Bank and Effelsberg Radio Telescope Searches for Axion Dark Matter Conversion in Neutron Star Magnetospheres
• Anomalous Radio-Wave Scattering from Interstellar Plasma Structures
• Population synthesis of isolated Neutron Stars with magneto--rotational evolution
• The impact of magnetic field on the thermal evolution of neutron stars
• Radio Signal of Axion-Photon Conversion in Neutron Stars: A Ray Tracing Analysis
• Dark matter axion detection in the radio/mm-waveband
• Celestial-Body Focused Dark Matter Annihilation Throughout the Galaxy
• Predictions for Axion Couplings from ALP Cogenesis
• The Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life: A Wideband Data Recorder System for the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope
• The Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life: Public Data, Formats, Reduction and Archiving
• The Breakthrough Listen Search For Intelligent Life Near the Galactic Center I
• GBT Multiwavelength Survey of the Galactic Center Region
• Axion-photon conversion in strongly magnetised plasmas
• The relevance of ambipolar diffusion for neutron star evolution
• Detecting pulsars in the Galactic centre
• Phase-space distribution of unbound dark matter near the Sun
• Towards Robust Constraints on Axion Dark Matter using PSR J1745-2900
• Sleeping beasts: strong toroidal magnetic field in quiescent magnetars explains their large pulsed fraction
• Massive Star Formation in the Molecular Ring Orbiting the Black Hole at the Galactic Center
• A Search for Axionic Dark Matter Using the Magnetar PSR J1745-2900
• Radio Line Properties of Axion Dark Matter Conversion in Neutron Stars
• ALMA View of the Circum-nuclear Disk of the Galactic Center; Tidally-disrupted Molecular Clouds falling to the Galactic Center
• Photophilic hadronic axion from heavy magnetic monopoles
• Amplified J-factors in the Galactic Center for velocity-dependent darkmatter annihilation in FIRE simulations
• Comments on Axions, Domain Walls, and Cosmic Strings
• Massive Star Formation of the Sgr A East HII Regions Near the Galactic Center
• ALMA Detection of Bipolar Outflows: Evidence for Low Mass Star Formation within 1pc of Sgr A*
• Heterogeneity of solid neutron-star matter: transport coefficients and neutrino emissivity
• Disorder resistivity of solid neutron-star matter
• $4-8\mathrm{GHz}$ Spectro-temporal Emission from the Galactic Center Magnetar $\mathrm{PSR}J1745-2900$

Cited by in corpus (29)

• Astrophysical Axion Bounds: The 2024 Edition
• Direct detection of dark photon dark matter using radio telescopes
• The Canfranc Axion Detection Experiment (CADEx): Search for axions at 90 GHz with Kinetic Inductance Detectors
• Axion minivoids and implications for direct detection
• Transient Radio Lines from Axion Miniclusters and Axion Stars
• Axion-Photon Conversion in 3D Media and Astrophysical Plasmas
• On the applicability of the Landau-Zener formula to axion-photon conversion
• Superradiance in Stars: Non-equilibrium approach to damping of fields in stellar media
• Axion-mediated Transport of Fast Radio Bursts Originating in Inner Magnetospheres of Magnetars
• Polarization Signals from Axion-Photon Resonant Conversion in Neutron Star Magnetosphere
• First Axion-Like Particle Results from a Broadband Search for Wave-Like Dark Matter in the 44 to 52 $\mu$eV Range with a Coaxial Dish Antenna
• A comprehensive calculation of the Primakoff process and the solar axion flux
• Listening for Dark Photon Radio from the Galactic Centre
• NuSTAR as an Axion Helioscope
• The Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life: A Laser Search Pipeline for the Automated Planet Finder
• Constraining Axion-Like Particles Dark Matter in Coma Berenices with FAST
• Identifying axion conversion in compact star magnetospheres with radio-wave polarization signatures
• On the Galactic radio signal from stimulated decay of axion dark matter
• Axions in Andromeda: Searching for Minicluster -- Neutron Star Encounters with the Green Bank Telescope
• Axion signals from neutron star populations
• Perspectives on fundamental cosmology from Low Earth Orbit and the Moon
• Stripped-Envelope Supernovae for QCD Axion Detection
• Sub-keV dark matter can strongly ionize molecular clouds
• ALP Dark Matter from Kinetic Fragmentation: Opening up the Parameter Window
• Retuning radio astronomy for axion dark matter with neutron stars
• Axion-Photon Conversion Signals from Neutron Stars with Spacetime Curvature Accounted for in the Magnetosphere Model
• Physics beyond the Standard Model with the DSA-2000
• Log Gaussian Cox Process Background Modeling in High Energy Physics
• Axion-Like Particle Dark Matter Intensity Mapping: A New Probe via Cross-Correlation with Galaxy Surveys