New CAST limit on the axion-photon interaction
New CAST limit on the axion-photon interaction
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DOI：
10.1038/nphys4109
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发表时间：
2017-06-01
期刊：
影响因子：
19.6
通讯作者：
Zioutas, K.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Anastassopoulos, V.;Aune, S.;Zioutas, K.
假想的低质量粒子，比如轴子，为宇宙中的暗物质提供了一种令人信服的解释。预计这类粒子会从恒星炽热的内部大量产生。为了检验这一预测，欧洲核子研究中心的轴子太阳望远镜（CAST）使用一个9特斯拉的经过翻新的大型强子对撞机测试磁体指向太阳。在强磁场中，太阳轴子可转化为X射线光子，这些光子能被X射线探测器记录下来。在2013 - 2015年的运行期间，由于低本底探测器和一台新的X射线望远镜，信噪比提高了约三倍。在此，我们报告由CAST设定的轴子 - 光子耦合强度的最佳限值（在95%置信水平下为0.66×10⁻¹⁰ GeV⁻¹），该限值现已达到与最严格的天体物理学界限相近的水平。
Hypothetical low-mass particles, such as axions, provide a compelling explanation for the dark matter in the universe. Such particles are expected to emerge abundantly from the hot interior of stars. To test this prediction, the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) uses a 9 T refurbished Large Hadron Collider test magnet directed towards the Sun. In the strong magnetic field, solar axions can be converted to X-ray photons which can be recorded by X-ray detectors. In the 2013-2015 run, thanks to low-background detectors and a new X-ray telescope, the signal-to-noise ratio was increased by about a factor of three. Here, we report the best limit on the axion-photon coupling strength (0.66 x 10(-10) GeV-1 at 95% confidence level) set by CAST, which now reaches similar levels to the most restrictive astrophysical bounds.