Abstract
Axion-gluon interaction induces quadratic couplings between the axion and the matter fields. We find that, if the axion is an ultralight dark matter field, it induces small oscillations of the mass of the hadrons as well as other nuclear quantities. As a result, atomic energy levels oscillate. We use currently available atomic spectroscopy data to constrain such axion-gluon coupling. We also project the sensitivities of future experiments, such as ones using molecular and nuclear clock transitions. We show that current and near-future experiments constrain a finely tuned parameter space of axion models. These can compete with or dominate the already-existing constraints from oscillating neutron electric dipole moment and supernova bound, in addition to those expected from near future magnetometer-based experiments. We also briefly discuss the reach of accelerometers and interferometers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 015005 |
| Journal | Physical review D |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2024 |
Funding
We would like to thank Abhishek Banerjee, Fady Bishara, Joshua Eby, Zhen Liu, Oleksii Matsedonskyi, Ethan Neil, Pablo Quilez, Surjeet Rajendran, and Seokhoon Yun for useful discussions. We also thank Anson Hook for useful comments on the manuscript. We especially thank Eric Madge for pointing out numerical errors in the figure in the previous version of the manuscript. The work of H. K. was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Germany’s Excellence Strategy—EXC 2121 Quantum Universe—390833306 and by the Munich Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics (MIAPP) which is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Germany’s Excellence Strategy—EXC-2094–390783311. The work of G. P. is supported by grants from BSF-NSF, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel research award, GIF, ISF, Minerva, SABRA—Yeda-Sela—WRC Program, the Estate of Emile Mimran, and the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Endowment.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Nuclear and High Energy Physics