Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: We estimate the production rate of axion-type particles in the core of the Earth, at a temperature $T\ensuremath{\approx}5000\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$. We constrain thermal geo-axion emission by demanding a core-cooling rate less than $\mathcal{O}(100)\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}/\mathrm{Gyr}$, as suggested by geophysics. This yields a ``nonstellar'' (unaffected by extreme stellar temperatures or densities) bound on the axion-electron (ae) fine structure constant, ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{ae}\ensuremath{\lesssim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}$, stronger than the existing accelerator (vacuum) bound by 4 orders of magnitude. We consider the prospects for measuring the geo-axion flux through conversion into photons in a geoscope; such measurements can further constrain ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{ae}$.
Authors: Hooman Davoudiasl, Patrick Huber
Institutions: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Virginia Tech
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1836087457