Axions are a hypothetical new particle introduced to explain why there is not more charge-parity symmetry violation in the theory of the strong interaction. Depending on precise parameters, ultra-light axions () can act as dark matter or dark energy. For masses , axions behave more like dark energy, while if , axions behave more like […]
I showed that if the radiation domination era began not long before big-bang nucleosynthesis (a novel but empirically allowed possibility), constraints to thermally produced axions are significantly relaxed. Results published in arXiv:0711.1352 (Phys. Rev. D 77, 085020). Collaborators: Tristan Smith and Prof. Marc Kamionkowski. Most experimental searches for axions and astrophysical constrains depend on their […]
I successfully proposed ~20 hours of observation time to look for decaying relic axions in the high-z galaxy cluster RDCS 1252. The resulting upper limits are the best in existence in the mass window from 8-14 eV. In the course of project, I mentored Princeton undergraduate student Kai Zhong Khor (shown below). Collaborators: Kai Zong […]
In this work, I led a team that used spectra of the galaxy clusters A2667 and A2390 obtained at the VLT in Chilé using the VIMOS IFU to look for thermally-produced axions in the 4.5-7.7 eV mass window, using their monochromatic decays to photons. If extant, such axions would produce a line signature in the […]
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