Axion emission from nuclear magnetic dipole transitions

TL;DR

This paper explores new methods for detecting axions by extending searches beyond specific nuclear transitions, considering complex environments like the CNO cycle, and proposing reactor-based experiments as a viable detection approach.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to search for axions in complex nuclear environments and suggests using nuclear reactors for axion detection, expanding beyond traditional methods.

Findings

Axion production can occur via CNO cycle mechanisms.

Reactor experiments can achieve comparable axion detection rates.

Limitations include axion lifetime and mass constraints.

Abstract

Nuclear transitions are one possible source of axions but past searches were restricted to specifc transitions. In this manuscript, we propose to extend the search for axions and axion-like particles to more a complex environment that would result in a number of correlated observables. By including creation mechanisms that have their origin in the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) cycle, we show that the search for solar axions should not only be restricted to the keV-mass region. We discuss limitations, such as the lifetime and the mass, that create a challenge for an Earth-bound experiments. We show that it is possible to use the same creation mechanisms as used in solar axions to search with a comparable rate at nuclear power reactors.