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Probing the QCD axion dark matter (DM) hypothesis is extremely challenging as the axion interacts very weakly with Standard Model particles. We propose a new avenue to test the QCD axion DM via transient radio signatures coming from encounters between neutron stars (NSs) and axion minihalos around primordial black holes (PBHs). We consider a general QCD axion scenario in which the PQ symmetry breaking occurs before (or during) inflation coexisting with a small fraction of DM in the form of PBHs. The PBHs will unavoidably acquire around them axion minihalos with the typical length scale of parsecs. The axion density in the minihalos may be much higher than the local DM density, and the presence of these compact objects in the Milky Way today provides a novel chance for testing the axion DM hypothesis. We study the evolution of the minihalo mass distribution in the Galaxy accounting for tidal forces and estimate the encounter rate between NSs and the dressed PBHs. We find that the encounters give rise to transient line-like emission of radio frequency photons produced by the resonant axion-photon conversion in the NS magnetosphere and the characteristic signal could be detectable with the sensitivity of current and prospective radio telescopes.
The QCD axion is expected to form dense structures known as axion miniclusters if the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken after inflation. Miniclusters that have survived until today would interact with the population of neutron stars (NSs) in the Milky
We consider a general class of axion models, including the QCD and string axion, in which the PQ symmetry is broken before or during inflation. Assuming the axion is the dominant component of the dark matter, we discuss axion star formation in virial
Advanced LIGO may be the first experiment to detect gravitational waves. Through superradiance of stellar black holes, it may also be the first experiment to discover the QCD axion with decay constant above the GUT scale. When an axions Compton wavel
We consider a cosmological scenario in which the very early Universe experienced a transient epoch of matter domination due to the formation of a large population of primordial black holes (PBHs) with masses $M lesssim 10^{9},textrm{g}$, that evapora
We study the well-motivated mixed dark matter (DM) scenario composed of a dominant thermal WIMP, highlighting the case of $SU(2)_L$ triplet fermion winos, with a small fraction of primordial black holes (PBHs). After the wino kinetic decoupling, the