Constraint on solar axions from seismic solar models

Abstract

We reexamine the theoretical limit on the axion coupling to two photons, $g_{a\gamma \gamma }$, in the light of a new solar model (seismic solar model) and the latest solar neutrino observations, the Super-Kamiokande and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). From the comparison of the theoretically expected and the measured neutrino fluxes, we set a limit $g_{a\gamma \gamma }<4.0\times 10^{-10}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$. This limit based on a new procedure is about a factor of 3 improvement over the previous theoretical limit and a more severe limit than the solar axion experiments. Therefore this limit is the most stringent limit on solar axions.

11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PLB