Constraining the photon-axion coupling constant with magnetic white dwarfs
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada)
The light pseudoscalar particle, dubbed the axion, borne out of the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong CP problem in QCD remains elusive. One avenue of inferring its existence is through its coupling to electromagnetic radiation. So far, laboratory experiments have dedicated all efforts to detect the axion in the mass range 10{sup -6}<m{sub a}<10{sup -3} eV with a photon-axion coupling strength g{sub a}{gamma}{gamma}<10{sup -10} GeV{sup -1}, where the limits are derived from astrophysical considerations. In this study, we present a novel way of constraining g{sub a}{gamma}{gamma} by looking at the level of linear polarization in the radiation emerging from magnetic white dwarfs. We find that photon-axion oscillations in white dwarf magnetospheres can enhance the degree of linear polarization. Observing that most magnetic white dwarfs show only 5% linear polarization, we derive upper limits on g{sub a}{gamma}{gamma} for different axion masses.
- OSTI ID:
- 21607935
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 84, Issue 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.84.085001; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ASTROPHYSICS
AXIONS
COUPLING
COUPLING CONSTANTS
CP INVARIANCE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
MASS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
OSCILLATIONS
PARTICLES
PHOTONS
POLARIZATION
QUANTUM CHROMODYNAMICS
WHITE DWARF STARS
BOSONS
DWARF STARS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FIELD THEORIES
GOLDSTONE BOSONS
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
MASSLESS PARTICLES
PHYSICS
POSTULATED PARTICLES
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
RADIATIONS
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