New constraints for heavy axion-like particles from supernovae

TL;DR

This paper establishes new limits on heavy axion-like particles by analyzing gamma-ray fluxes from supernovae SN 1987A and Cassiopeia A, using Fermi LAT data to constrain their properties.

Contribution

It introduces novel constraints on heavy axion-like particles' coupling to photons based on supernova gamma-ray observations, extending previous bounds.

Findings

For 100 MeV mass, f_a > 10^{15} GeV

Excludes masses 100 eV to 1 GeV for f_a=10^{12} GeV

Provides strong new limits on axion-like particle parameter space

Abstract

We derive new constraints on the coupling of heavy pseudoscalar (axion-like) particles to photons, based on the gamma ray flux expected from the decay of these particles into photons. After being produced in the supernova core, these heavy axion-like particles would escape and a fraction of them would decay into photons before reaching the Earth. We have calculated the expected flux on Earth of these photons from the supernovae SN 1987A and Cassiopeia A and compared our results to data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This analysis provides strong constraints on the parameter space for axion-like particles. For a particle mass of 100 MeV, we find that the Peccei-Quinn constant, f_a, must be greater than about 10^{15} GeV. Alternatively, for fa=10^{12} GeV, we exclude the mass region between approximately 100 eV and 1 GeV.