Speaker
Description
The QCD axion, arising from the Peccei–Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem, remains one of the most compelling candidates for physics beyond the Standard Model and for the dark matter of the Universe. Core-collapse galactic supernovae provide exceptional laboratories for probing such particles, as the extreme densities and temperatures inside the proto-neutron star lead to copious axion emission. The only “close” supernova observed in modern times, SN 1987A, occurred not in the Milky Way but in the Large Magellanic Cloud at 51 kpc. Despite the limited sensitivity of the only γ-ray telescope operating back then, Solar Maximum Mission (SMM), constraints on axions and axion-like particles ALPs derived from that event are still among the most competitive.
Today, γ-ray telescopes such as Fermi-LAT offer nearly two orders of magnitude greater effective area, making the next Galactic supernova a realistic discovery opportunity. Axions produced during the cooling phase can convert into ~100 MeV photons in the progenitor star’s own magnetic field. In this talk, I will show that stripped-envelope Type Ibc supernovae, which are compact and possess strong surface magnetic fields, provide the optimal conditions for a possible QCD axion detection.