Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2111.09892

Upper Limit on the QCD Axion Mass from Isolated Neutron Star Cooling

Malte Buschmann·Christopher Dessert·Joshua W. Foster·Andrew J. Long·Benjamin R. Safdi
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The quantum chromodynamics (QCD) axion may modify the cooling rates of neutron stars (NSs). The axions are produced within the NS cores from nucleon bremsstrahlung and, when the nucleons are in superfluid states, Cooper pair breaking and formation processes. We show that four of the nearby isolated Magnificent Seven NSs along with PSR J0659 are prime candidates for axion cooling studies because they are coeval, with ages of a few hundred thousand years known from kinematic considerations, and they have well-measured surface luminosities. We compare these data to dedicated NS cooling simulations incorporating axions, profiling over uncertainties related to the equation of state, NS masses, surface compositions, and superfluidity. Our calculations of the axion and neutrino emissivities include high-density suppression factors that also affect SN 1987A and previous NS cooling limits on axions. We find no evidence for axions in the isolated NS data, and within the context of the KSVZ QCD axion model we constrain $m_a \lesssim 16$ meV at 95% confidence. An improved understanding of NS cooling and nucleon superfluidity could further improve these limits or lead to the discovery of the axion at weaker couplings.

Explore related subjects

hep-phastro-ph.HE

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Malte Buschmann, Christopher Dessert, Joshua W. Foster, Andrew J. Long, Benjamin R. Safdi. 2021-11-18. Upper Limit on the QCD Axion Mass from Isolated Neutron Star Cooling. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.128.091102

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Sensitivity Analysis of Singlet Vector-Like B Quarks via Photon-Induced and Z-Initiated Processes at FCC-$μp$

This study presents a systematic sensitivity analysis of singlet-type vector-like $B$ quark production at an FCC--$μp$ collider with a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=24.5~\mathrm{TeV}$ through photon- and $Z$-initiated production mechanisms. The analysis focuses on the $B\to Zb$ decay channel, considering the leptonic decay of the $Z$ boson and the hadronic decay of the accompanying $W$ boson, leading to the final state $\ell^+\ell^-bjj$. Detector-resolution effects are incorporated through a simplified Gaussian smearing procedure, and the discovery and exclusion sensitivities are evaluated using an Asimov-based statistical framework. For the photon-induced channel, the most favourable sensitivity is obtained for $R_L=0.05$ and $\mathcal{L}=1000~\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$. Over the mass range $M_B=2$--$3~\mathrm{TeV}$, the expected $5σ$ discovery reach is approximately $g^\ast\simeq0.263$--$0.328$, while the $95\%$ C.L. exclusion sensitivity extends to $g^\ast\simeq0.162$--$0.197$. On the other hand, the $Z$-initiated channel provides a substantially stronger sensitivity and extends the investigated mass range up to $M_B=4.5~\mathrm{TeV}$. For $R_L=0.05$ and $\mathcal{L}=500~\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$, the $5σ$ discovery reach is approximately $g^\ast\simeq0.038$--$0.056$, while the corresponding $95\%$ C.L. exclusion sensitivity reaches $g^\ast\simeq0.021$--$0.032$. These results demonstrate that photon- and $Z$-initiated single production at an FCC--$μp$ collider provide complementary probes of heavy vector-like $B$ quarks. Moreover, the $Z$-initiated channel offers particularly strong sensitivity to small effective couplings in the multi-TeV mass region beyond the present direct LHC reach.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

Flavon assisted low scale leptogenesis

Low-scale leptogenesis scenarios, such as the resonant leptogenesis, typically require a highly degenerate mass spectrum of right-handed neutrinos (RHNs). This requirement can be circumvented by extending the seesaw framework with a scalar singlet $S$ that couples to RHNs via the $S N^{}_I N^{}_J$ terms (with $I \neq J$), which opens up new decay channels $N^{}_I \to N^{}_J S$ and provides additional sources of CP violation, thereby enabling successful leptogenesis at the TeV scale without the need for mass degeneracy. In this work, for the first time, we point out that the flavon fields, which are introduced in many flavor-symmetry neutrino mass models to be responsible for the generation of RHN masses through the acquisition of non-zero vacuum expectation values, serve as ideal candidates for the $S$ field. Taking as an example a flavor-symmetry neutrino mass model that naturally realizes the experimentally allowed TM1 mixing pattern and has the attractive features that only one flavon field plays the role of $S$ and that it couples to only two RHNs, we demonstrate that the observed neutrino masses and mixing angles can be consistently reproduced, while the observed baryon asymmetry can be achieved within a parameter space compatible with current experimental constraints.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

EasyScan_HEP 2: LLM-Agent Parameter-Scan Workflows in High Energy Physics

Large-language-model (LLM) agents are beginning to reshape the preparation and steering of computational workflows in high-energy physics phenomenology. To accommodate this change, we upgrade EasyScan_HEP to make the construction of parameter-scan configuration files more accessible to LLM-agent assistance. EasyScan_HEP 2 exposes command-line and machine-readable interfaces for LLM-agent workflows, allowing an assistant to translate natural language requests into an explicit .ini configuration that defines the scan method, external-program workflow, constraints, and outputs. The resulting configuration can be inspected through a local Web interface. The framework also supports LLM-agent-guided extension to new scan methods, as illustrated by the integration of BESTFIT, EMCEE, and DYNESTY. In this way, EasyScan_HEP 2 adapts parameter-scan workflows to LLM-agent use while preserving reproducibility, transparency, and user control.

hep-ph↗