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Title: Extragalactic photon-ALP conversion at CTA energies

Abstract

Magnetic fields in extragalactic space between galaxy clusters may induce conversions between photons and axion-like particles (ALPs), thereby shielding the photons from absorption on the extragalactic background light. For TeV gamma rays, the oscillation length (losc) of the photon-ALP system becomes inevitably of the same order as the coherence length of the magnetic field l and the length over which the field changes significantly (transition length lt) due to refraction on background photons. We derive exact statistical evolution equations for the mean and variance of the photon and ALP transfer functions in the non-adiabatic regime (losc ~ l >> lt). We also make analytical predictions for the transfer functions in the quasi-adiabatic regime (losc <t). Our results are important in light of the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), and may also be applied to models with non-zero ALP masses.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Max-Planck-Inst. fur Physik, Munich (Germany)
  2. Max-Planck-Inst. fur Physik, Munich (Germany); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; German Research Foundation (DFG); European Union (EU)
OSTI Identifier:
1360940
Report Number(s):
SLAC-PUB-16842
Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515; EXC 153; H2020-MSCAITN- 2015/674896-ELUSIVES
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2017; Journal Issue: 01; Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; transparency of the Universe to high-energy photons; axion-like particles; photon-ALP conversion; photon-photon refraction; extragalactic magnetic fields

Citation Formats

Kartavtsev, A., Raffelt, G., and Vogel, H. Extragalactic photon-ALP conversion at CTA energies. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2017/01/024.
Kartavtsev, A., Raffelt, G., & Vogel, H. Extragalactic photon-ALP conversion at CTA energies. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2017/01/024
Kartavtsev, A., Raffelt, G., and Vogel, H. Thu . "Extragalactic photon-ALP conversion at CTA energies". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2017/01/024. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1360940.
@article{osti_1360940,
title = {Extragalactic photon-ALP conversion at CTA energies},
author = {Kartavtsev, A. and Raffelt, G. and Vogel, H.},
abstractNote = {Magnetic fields in extragalactic space between galaxy clusters may induce conversions between photons and axion-like particles (ALPs), thereby shielding the photons from absorption on the extragalactic background light. For TeV gamma rays, the oscillation length (losc) of the photon-ALP system becomes inevitably of the same order as the coherence length of the magnetic field l and the length over which the field changes significantly (transition length lt) due to refraction on background photons. We derive exact statistical evolution equations for the mean and variance of the photon and ALP transfer functions in the non-adiabatic regime (losc ~ l >> lt). We also make analytical predictions for the transfer functions in the quasi-adiabatic regime (losc <t). Our results are important in light of the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), and may also be applied to models with non-zero ALP masses.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2017/01/024},
journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
number = 01,
volume = 2017,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Thu Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Constraining axion-like-particles with hard X-ray emission from magnetars
journal, June 2018

  • Fortin, Jean-François; Sinha, Kuver
  • Journal of High Energy Physics, Vol. 2018, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1007/jhep06(2018)048

Blazar VHE spectral alterations induced by photon–ALP oscillations
journal, April 2019

  • Galanti, Giorgio; Tavecchio, Fabrizio; Roncadelli, Marco
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 487, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz1144

Searching for the possible signal of the photon-axionlike particle oscillation in the combined GeV and TeV spectra of supernova remnants
journal, December 2019


Axion-like particles and recent observations of the cosmic infrared background radiation
journal, September 2017


Enhancing the Spectral Hardening of Cosmic TeV Photons by Mixing with Axionlike Particles in the Magnetized Cosmic Web
journal, September 2017


Physics potential of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
text, January 2019


Physics potential of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
journal, June 2019


Physics potential of the International Axion Observatory (IAXO)
text, January 2019


Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array for probing cosmology and fundamental physics with gamma-ray propagation
journal, February 2021