Solar axions in large extra dimensions

TL;DR

This paper explores the role of Kaluza-Klein axions in large extra dimensions, proposing they could explain solar X-ray phenomena and evade existing astrophysical bounds, with revised decay rate estimates impacting detection prospects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model of KK axions in large extra dimensions affecting solar and cosmological phenomena, and revises decay event rate estimates based on recent solar luminosity data.

Findings

KK axions can accumulate in the Sun and influence solar X-ray emissions.

The decay rate of KK axions is much lower than previously estimated, affecting detection strategies.

KK axions may evade the extragalactic background light constraints that limit standard axion-like particles.

Abstract

The axion could be used as a probe for extra dimensions. In large extra dimensions, besides the QCD axion one obtains an infinite tower of massive Kaluza-Klein (KK) states. We describe the processes of KK axions production in the Sun via the axion-photon coupling, $g_{a\gamma\gamma}$, and we derive the number density of KK axions that get trapped into the solar gravitational field and then accumulate over cosmic times. The large multiplicity of states, as well as their masses in the keV-range, deeply alter the phenomenology of the axion. This scenario leads us to propose the presence of KK axions as an interpretation of the non-thermal distribution of the solar X-rays. In this work, we dedicate special attention on the astrophysical and cosmological bounds that apply on the model. In particular, we show how the KK axions may escape the EBL limit that constrains standard ALPs in the same mass range. Present searches for KK axions make use of the decay channel, $a\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$, for which we revise the event rate; our value lies orders of magnitude below the rate usually quoted in the literature. This major conclusion stems from recent measurements of the luminosity of the quiet Sun which acts as an irreducible limit. The revised model remains a viable and an attractive explanation for multiple astrophysical observations, and we propose several approaches to search for solar KK axions in the near future.