Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “AXIONS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

ADMX Axion Dark Matter Bounds around 3.3 μ eV with Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky Discovery Ability

We report the results of a QCD axion dark matter search with discovery ability for Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky (DFSZ) axions using an axion haloscope. Sub-Kelvin noise temperatures are reached with an ultralow noise Josephson parametric amplifier cooled by a dilution refrigerator. This work excludes (with a 90% confidence level) DFSZ axions with masses between 3.27 to 3.34 μ eV , assuming a standard halo model with a local energy density of 0.45 G e V / cm 3 made up 100% of axions. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hybrid SO(10) Axion Model without Quality Problem

Invisible axion models that solve the strong C P problem via the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) mechanism typically have a quality problem that arises from quantum gravity effects which violate all global symmetries. These models therefore require extreme fine-tuning of parameters for consistency. We present a new solution to the quality problem in a unified SO ( 10 ) × U ( 1 ) a gauge model, where U ( 1 ) a is an anomaly free axial gauge symmetry. PQ symmetry emerges as an accidental symmetry in this setup, which admits a PQ breaking scale as large as 7 × 10 11 GeV , allowing for the axion to be the cosmological dark matter. We call this a hybrid axion model due to its unique feature that it interpolates between the popular KSVZ and DFSZ axion models. Its predictions for the experimentally measurable axion couplings to the nucleon and electron are distinct from those of the usual models, a feature that can be used to test it. Furthermore, the model has no domain wall problem and it provides a realistic and predictive framework for fermion masses and mixings. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Babu, K. S. (ORCID:0000000161475155)↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Large Bore Conduction Cooled Superconducting Magnet for the Princeton Axion Search

Princeton University (PU) is designing and building a new experiment, called the Princeton Axion Search (PXS), that aims to discover (or exclude) Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) axions in the 0.8–2 μeV mass range that are the cosmological dark matter. Core elements of the experiment are new, and in particular new to the search for axion dark matter. An essential component of the experiment is a 5 T superconducting magnet with a total bore volume of ~500 L. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory managed by Princeton University, has the unique expertise and experimental facilities to design and construct such a solenoid magnet assembled with the cavity resonator for PXS. To support this, PPPL utilizes legacy ITER-Nb3Sn conductors, along with its experimental facilities and expertises to design, build and test low-cost conduction-cooled superconducting solenoid magnets to be integrated into the axion detector. This paper discusses the various coil design and integration challenges in the large bore conduction cooled magnet in support of PXS. In conclusion, the proposed instrumental methods will help optimize the path to future and more ambitious axion searches at lower masses.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Search for axioelectric effect of solar axions using BGO scintillating bolometer

Here, a search for axioelectric absorption of solar axions produced in the p+d→ 3 He+γ (5.5 MeV) reaction has been performed with a BGO detector placed in a low-background setup. A model-independent limit on the combination of axion–nucleon and axion–electron coupling constants has been obtained: |g Ae x g$3\atop{AN}$| for 90 % confidence level. The constraint of the axion–electron coupling constant has been obtained for hadronic axion with masses of (0.1–1) MeV: |g Ae | ≤ (0.96 - 8.2) x 10 -8 .

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Axions, WIMPs, proton decay and observable r in SO(10)

Abstract We explore some experimentally testable predictions of an SO (10) axion model which includes two 10-plets of fermions in order to resolve the axion domain wall problem. The axion symmetry can be safely broken after inflation, so that the isocurvature perturbations associated with the axion field are negligibly small. An unbroken gauge $$Z_2$$ Z 2 symmetry in SO (10) ensures the presence of a stable WIMP-like dark matter, a linear combination of the electroweak doublets in the fermion 10-plets and an SO (10) singlet fermion with mass $$\sim 62.5 \; \textrm{GeV}\; (1 \; \textrm{TeV}) $$ ∼ 62.5 GeV ( 1 TeV ) when it is mostly the singlet (doublet) fermion, that co-exists with axion dark matter. We also discuss gauge coupling unification, proton decay, inflation with non-minimal coupling to gravity and leptogenesis. With the identification of the SM singlet Higgs field in the 126 representation of SO (10) as inflaton, the magnetic monopoles are inflated away, and we find $$0.963 \lesssim n_s \lesssim 0.965$$ 0.963 ≲ n s ≲ 0.965 and $$0.003 \lesssim r \lesssim 0.036$$ 0.003 ≲ r ≲ 0.036 , where $$n_s$$ n s and r denote the scalar spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio, respectively. These predictions can be tested in future experiments such as CMB-S4.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Axion-mediated Transport of Fast Radio Bursts Originating in Inner Magnetospheres of Magnetars

Abstract Among magnetar models of fast radio bursts (FRBs), there is ongoing debate about whether the site of coherent radio emission lies within or beyond the light cylinder. We propose a mechanism by which FRBs produced near the magnetar surface are transported out of the magnetosphere by axions, which are hypothetical particles that couple to photons. If the emission site hosts strong accelerating electric fields, a considerable fraction of the FRB energy budget is converted to an axion burst. Once produced, the axion burst free streams out of the magnetosphere due to the rapidly decreasing magnetic field. The burst may escape through either the open or closed magnetosphere while retaining the temporal signature of the original FRB. In the wind region, axions resonantly excite ordinary (O) modes that escape as the plasma density decreases. The radio efficiency of this mechanism satisfies energetics constraints from FRB 121102 for axion−photon coupling strengths that have not been excluded by other astrophysical probes.

Prabhu, Anirudh (ORCID:0000000191157844)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Non-Virialized Axion Search Sensitive to Doppler Effects in the Milky Way Halo

The Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) has previously excluded Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky (DFSZ) axions between 680-790 MHz under the assumption that the dark matter is described by the isothermal halo model. However, the precise nature of the velocity distribution of dark matter is still unknown, and alternative models have been proposed. We report the results of a non-virialized axion search over the mass range 2.81-3.31 μeV, corresponding to the frequency range 680-800 MHz. This analysis marks the most sensitive search for non-virialized axions sensitive to Doppler effects in the Milky Way Halo to date. Accounting for frequency shifts due to the detector's motion through the Galaxy, we exclude cold flow relic axions with a velocity dispersion of order 10^-7 c with 95% confidence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Search for non-virialized axions with 3.3-4.2 $\mu$eV mass at selected resolving powers

The Axion Dark Matter eXperiment is sensitive to narrow axion flows, given axions compose a fraction of the dark matter with a non-negligible local density. Detecting these low-velocity dispersion flows requires a high spectral resolution and careful attention to the expected signal modulation due to Earth's motion. We report an exclusion on the local axion dark matter density in narrow flows of $\rho_a \gtrsim 0.03\,\mathrm{GeV/cm^3}$ and $\rho_a \gtrsim 0.004\,\mathrm{GeV/cm^3}$ for Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitski and Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov axion-photon couplings, respectively, over the mass range $3.3-4.2\,\mu\text{eV}$. Measurements were made at selected resolving powers to allow for a range of possible velocity dispersions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Search for Axion Dark Matter from 1.1 to 1.3 GHz with ADMX

Axion dark matter can satisfy the conditions needed to account for all of the dark matter and solve the strong 𝐶⁢𝑃 problem. The Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) is a direct dark matter search using a haloscope to convert axions to photons in an external magnetic field. Key to this conversion is the use of a microwave resonator that enhances the sensitivity at the frequency of interest. The ADMX experiment boosts its sensitivity using a dilution refrigerator and near quantum-limited amplifier to reduce the noise level in the experimental apparatus. In the most recent run, ADMX searched for axions between 1.10 and 1.31 GHz to extended Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov sensitivity. This Letter reports on the results of that run, as well as unique aspects of this experimental setup.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Axion interactions with domain and bubble walls

We show that interactions between axion-like particles (ALPs) and co-dimension one defects, such as phase-transition bubble walls and solitonic domain walls, can lead to important changes in the evolution of both walls and ALPs. The leading effect arises from the change in the ALP decay constant across the interface, which naturally follows from shift-symmetric interactions with the corresponding order parameter. Specifically, we show that for thin walls moving relativistically, an ALP background — such as e.g. axion dark matter — gives rise to a frictional force on the interface that is proportional to γ 2 , with γ the Lorentz factor of the wall, and that this effect is present in both the oscillating and frozen axion regimes. We explore the broader consequences of this effect for bubble and domain walls in the early universe, and show that this source of friction can be present even in the absent of a conventional medium such as radiation or matter. Possible implications include modifications to the dynamics of bubble and domain walls and their corresponding gravitational wave signatures, as well as the generation of a dark radiation component of ALPs in the form of ultra-relativistic ‘axion shells’ with Lorentz factor γ shell ≃ 2γ 2 ≫ 1 that may remain relativistic until the present day.

Axions and ALPs↗
DOE OSTI2025

Asymmetrical cavity design that bypasses mode mixings in axion haloscope experiments

Microwave cavities used in axion haloscope experiments typically employ a tuning rod as a means to widen the range of resonance frequencies at which it is sensitive to axion-to-photon conversion. A realistic tuning mechanism requires a gap between the cavity end caps and the tuning rod to ensure movement, and causes some modes to hybridize with the resonant mode that is being tracked for the experiment. These so-called mode mixings lead to gaps in the frequency range that practically lose sensitivity to axions. Here, to solve this problem, we present a cavity design which, for two tuning rod configurations corresponding to a lower and higher frequency range, have a dielectric rod inserted at a specific location that makes the cavity asymmetrical. Moving the tuning rod closer to the dielectric insert changes the location and frequency of the mode mixing compared to when it is farther away from it. This design is easily realizable in practical experiments and makes possible an axion dark matter search with minimal loss in sensitivity due to mode mixings. We also show that the same design has the same desired effect when cavity dimensions are scaled down to be smaller and are at higher resonance frequencies.

Axion↗
DOE OSTI2013

Axion cosmology with long-lived domain walls

We investigate the cosmological constraints on axion models where the domain wall number is greater than one. In these models, multiple domain walls attached to strings are formed, and they survive for a long time. Their annihilation occurs due to the effects of explicit symmetry breaking term which might be raised by Planck-scale physics. We perform three-dimensional lattice simulations and compute the spectra of axions and gravitational waves produced by long-lived domain walls. Using the numerical results, we estimated relic density of axions and gravitational waves. We find that the existence of long-lived domain walls leads to the overproduction of cold dark matter axions, while the density of gravitational waves is too small to observe at the present time. Combining the results with other observational constraints, we find that the whole parameter region of models are excluded unless an unacceptable fine-tuning exists.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Isocurvature constraints and anharmonic effects on QCD axion dark matter

We revisit the isocurvature density perturbations induced by quantum fluctuations of the axion field by extending a recently developed analytic method and approximations to a time-dependent scalar potential, which enables us to follow the evolution of the axion until it starts to oscillate. We find that, as the initial misalignment angle approaches the hilltop of the potential, the isocurvature perturbations become significantly enhanced, while the non-Gaussianity parameter increases slowly but surely. As a result, the isocurvature constraint on the inflation scale is tightened as H{sub inf}∼<O(100) GeV for the axion decay constant f{sub a}∼<10{sup 10} GeV, near the smaller end of the axion dark matter window. We also derive useful formulae for the power spectrum and non-Gaussianity of the isocurvature perturbations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Axion hot dark matter bounds after Planck

We use cosmological observations in the post-Planck era to derive limits on thermally produced cosmological axions. In the early universe such axions contribute to the radiation density and later to the hot dark matter fraction. We find an upper limit m{sub a} < 0.67 eV at 95% C.L. after marginalising over the unknown neutrino masses, using CMB temperature and polarisation data from Planck and WMAP respectively, the halo matter power spectrum extracted from SDSS-DR7, and the local Hubble expansion rate H{sub 0} released by the Carnegie Hubble Program based on a recalibration of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project sample. Leaving out the local H{sub 0} measurement relaxes the limit somewhat to 0.86 eV, while Planck+WMAP alone constrain the axion mass to 1.01 eV, the first time an upper limit on m{sub a} has been obtained from CMB data alone. Our axion limit is therefore not very sensitive to the tension between the Planck-inferred H{sub 0} and the locally measured value. This is in contrast with the upper limit on the neutrino mass sum, which we find here to range from Σ m{sub ν} < 0.27 eV at 95% C.L. combining all of the aforementioned observations, to 0.84 eV from CMB data alone.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Bose-Einstein condensation of the classical axion field in cosmology?

The axion is a motivated cold dark matter candidate, which it would be interesting to distinguish from weakly interacting massive particles. Sikivie has suggested that axions could behave differently during non-linear galaxy evolution, if they form a Bose-Einstein condensate, and argues that ''gravitational thermalisation'' drives them to a Bose-Einstein condensate during the radiation dominated era. Using classical equations of motion during linear structure formation, we explore whether the gravitational interactions of axions can generate enough entropy. At linear order in G{sub N}, we interpret that the principle activities of gravity are to expand the Universe and grow density fluctuations. To quantify the rate of entropy creation we use the anisotropic stress to estimate a short dissipation scale for axions which does not confirm previous estimates of their gravitational thermalisation rate.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Axions as hot and cold dark matter

The presence of a hot dark matter component has been hinted at 3σ by a combination of the results from different cosmological observations. We examine a possibility that pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons account for both hot and cold dark matter components. We show that the QCD axions can do the job for the axion decay constant f{sub a}∼<O(10{sup 10}) GeV, if they are produced by the saxion decay and the domain wall annihilation. We also investigate the cases of thermal QCD axions, pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons coupled to the standard model sector through the Higgs portal, and axions produced by modulus decay.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

N-flation with hierarchically light axions in string compactifications

We propose a possible embedding of axionic N-flation in type IIB string compactifications where most of the Kähler moduli are stabilised by perturbative effects, and so are hierarchically heavier than the corresponding N>> 1 axions whose collective dynamics drives inflation. This is achieved in the framework of the LARGE Volume Scenario for moduli stabilisation. Our set-up can be used to realise a model of either large field inflation or quintessence, just by varying the volume of the internal space which controls the scale of the axionic potential. Both cases predict a very high scale of supersymmetry breaking. A fully explicit stringy embedding of N-flation would require control over dangerous back-reaction effects due to a large number of species. A viable reheating of the Standard Model degrees of freedom can be achieved after the end of inflation due to the perturbative decay of the N light axions which drive inflation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Combining universal and odd RR axions for aligned natural inflation

We successfully embed the Kim-Nilles-Peloso (KNP) alignment mechanism for enhancing the axion decay constant in the context of large volume type IIB orientifolds. The flat direction is generated in the plane of (C{sub 0}-C{sub 2}) axions corresponding to the involutively even universal axion C{sub 0} and odd axion C{sub 2}, respectively. The moduli stabilization with large volume scheme has been established as well.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗