After axions were first theorized by physicists in the suburbs of Chicago 45 yr ago , they quickly became a robust campaigner for explainingdark matter . All this prison term , though , the ultra - small mote have remained divinatory . Now , a squad of astrophysicists have proposed that axions may be creditworthy for an excess of X - ray emissions understand coming from a group of neutron stars in our extragalactic nebula .
The stars — dubbed the “ Magnificent Seven”—are neutron stars that emit grim - frequency Adam - ray radiation from their surfaces . Neutron genius are the exceedingly dense afterlives of collapsed stars . They possess brawny charismatic flying field , and , as their name would suggest , are constituted in gravid part by neutrons . The new inquiry , publishedthis week in the daybook Physical Review Letters , focuses on a yet - unexplained bunch of high - frequency X - rays that the seven stars are giving off .
“ It ’s possible that what we ’re check here is evidence for new physics , is evidence for axions , which would transform our understanding of nature in a really immense way , which is hard to convey , ” Benjamin Safdi , particle physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and co - writer of the late paper , tell in a phone call . “ That discovery could come with this paper ; it could come 500 long time from now . That ’s how scientific discipline works , and so there ’s no guarantee of instant gratification . ”
The Messier 83 galaxy is peppered with neutron stars.Image: NASA/Chandra X-Ray Observatory (Fair Use)
https://gizmodo.com/if-tiny-dark-matter-particle-exists-this-experiment-is-1825105012
The main uncertainty about axions rotate around their world . In other run-in , there is consensus among physicists about the properties these theoretical particles would possess , should they exist . One such property is that axions would interact very weakly , and seldom , with average matter . rather of scatter off the affair in the star , the axions would but break loose . Another is that axions can turn into photons in the presence of magnetized playing field — like those surrounding the seven neutron stars .
The researchers equate the axions ’ potential behavior to neutrinos , a likewise small subatomic particle ( albeit one whose existence is proven ) that rarely interact with other matter . Neutrons within neutron stars are known to collide and emit neutrino , which is a primary way the ace cools over time .
The squad ’s proffer is that axions could be make in the centre of neutron stars , where it is much hotter and more energized than the star ’s surface . Just as neutrons inside that dumb , super - red-hot region make neutrino through their collision , so too could axions be produced . The difference is that in the presence of a magnetic plain , the axion could convert into a photon . That photon ’s sparkle vim would be detectable on the go - ray spectrum , specifically in the high - frequency range . late data had been collected of these eminent - frequence wave , but only as a by-product of the main subject of inquiry : the low - frequency ecstasy - ray waves coming off the stars ’ Earth’s surface .
https://gizmodo.com/extremely-sensitive-dark-matter-experiment-detects-some-1844060043
“ We ’re not claiming that we ’ve made the discovery of the axion yet , but we ’re read that the extra decade - ray photon can be excuse by axions , ” said Raymond Co , an astrophysicist at the University of Minnesota and a co - writer of the report , in a press sacking . “ It is an exciting discovery of the excess in the X - ray of light photon , and it ’s an exciting possibility that ’s already consistent with our interpretation of axions . ”
Safdi ’s promise is that succeeding tending can be paid to a nearby blank nanus , a riotous star that ’s less compact and with a much cooler control surface temperature than a neutron hotshot . Since the white-hot dwarves do n’t give off low-down - frequency cristal - rays from their surface , no hug drug - ray telescope ever had much reason to be target at one .
“ There really is nothing that should show up in any X - beam wavelength , ” Safdi said . “ If we do see a signaling , we can be much more confident that what we ’re see is from axions . ”
Dark matterMatterNeutron starParticle physicsPhysical sciences
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