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Axion Dark Matter Detection with CMB Polarization

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arxiv 1903.02666 v2 pith:AKRMGECG submitted 2019-03-07 astro-ph.CO hep-ph

classification astro-ph.COhep-ph
keywords axiondarkmatterpolarizationfieldsearchcosmiceffect
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal
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We point out two ways to search for low-mass axion dark matter using cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization measurements. These appear, in particular, to be some of the most promising ways to directly detect fuzzy dark matter. Axion dark matter causes rotation of the polarization of light passing through it. This gives rise to two novel phenomena in the CMB. First, the late-time oscillations of the axion field today cause the CMB polarization to oscillate in phase across the entire sky. Second, the early-time oscillations of the axion field wash out the polarization produced at last-scattering, reducing the polarized fraction (TE and EE power spectra) compared to the standard prediction. Since the axion field is oscillating, the common (static) `cosmic birefringence' search is not appropriate for axion dark matter. These two phenomena can be used to search for axion dark matter at the lighter end of the mass range, with a reach several orders of magnitude beyond current constraints. We set a limit from the washout effect using existing Planck results, and find significant future discovery potential for CMB detectors searching in particular for the oscillating effect.

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Cited by 6 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Spinoptics in the presence of axion-like particles in curved spacetime

    gr-qc 2026-07 accept novelty 6.5 of 10

    Spinoptics equations for axion–Maxwell theory yield helicity-dependent photon trajectory corrections from both spacetime curvature and arbitrary axion profiles.

  2. Reflection polarization of close binaries as a probe of axion dark matter birefringence

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.5 of 10

    Phase-locked reflection polarization in close binaries can probe axion-photon coupling near 10^{-12} (single) to 10^{-13} GeV^{-1} (array) at ~10^{-20} eV via orbital-harmonic sidebands.

  3. Planck constraints on the scale dependence of isotropic cosmic birefringence

    astro-ph.CO 2025-07 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    Planck polarization data favor a constant cosmic birefringence angle (β≈0.3°) across multipoles, with scale dependence consistent with zero at up to 1.8σ.

  4. First Constraint on Axion-Photon Coupling $g_{\gamma}$ from Neutron Star Observations

    hep-ph 2025-06 reject novelty 6.0 of 10

    The paper derives a first bound on the dimensionless axion-photon coupling gγ from pulsar polarization data, reporting |gγ|<0.93 at 1σ for axion masses below 10^-11 eV, via a neutron-star-induced axion field.

  5. Wading the String Bog: CMB Birefringence in the Swampland

    hep-th 2026-07 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    Ultralight-axion explanations of cosmic birefringence sit in tension with Swampland bounds, while thin axionic domain walls predict exactly isotropic birefringence, so anisotropy measurements can discriminate the alte...

  6. Simultaneous inference of isotropic and anisotropic polarization rotation angles for next-generation cosmic microwave background experiments

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    A Bayesian power-spectrum framework simultaneously infers isotropic and anisotropic cosmic birefringence angles, instrumental miscalibration angles, and foreground parameters from simulated multi-frequency next-genera...

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