Exploring Constraints on Axion-like Particles with the Observations for blazar Mrk 501

TL;DR

This study investigates how different magnetic field configurations in the blazar Mrk 501 affect constraints on axion-like particles, revealing that the emission scenario significantly influences the limits derived from gamma-ray spectra.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of magnetic field models and emission scenarios to refine ALP parameter constraints using blazar spectra.

Findings

Hadronic models yield more stringent ALP constraints.

Magnetic field structure significantly impacts ALP parameter limits.

Both leptonic and hadronic scenarios fit the observed spectra.

Abstract

Oscillations between axion-like particles (ALPs) and photons in astrophysical magnetic fields can lead to irregularities in the high energy gamma ray spectra of blazars. The magnetic field within the blazar jet plays a crucial role in shaping these effects, with its strength in the emission region being an important parameter determined by multi-wavelength observations. However, the origin of the high energy bump observed in the spectral energy distribution of some blazars is a topic of debate, with both leptonic and hadronic scenarios providing plausible explanations that result in different magnetic field strengths in the emission region. In this study, we investigate the impact of magnetic field configurations on the constraints of ALP parameters. We consider both leptonic and hadronic emission scenarios for the blazar Mrk 501 and derive the corresponding jet magnetic field strengths. Additionally, we explore two jet magnetic field models: one with a toroidal component and the other with helical and tangled components. By analyzing the spectra of Mrk 501 observed by MAGIC and Fermi-LAT from 2017-06-17 to 2019-07-23, which are well-described by both emission scenarios, we derive constraints on the ALP parameters. Our results demonstrate that both the emission scenario and the magnetic field structure play a significant role in deriving these constraints, with the hadronic model leading to much more stringent limits compared to the leptonic model.