Abelian-Higgs vortices in the oscillating axion background

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Abelian-Higgs vortices behave in an oscillating axion background, revealing induced electric fields, resonant cavity modes, and vortex interactions, which could aid axion dark matter detection.

Contribution

It introduces the study of vortex dynamics in oscillating axion fields, highlighting electromagnetic effects and vortex interactions relevant for dark matter searches.

Findings

Electric field induced in vortex cores due to axion-photon conversion

Resonant cavity modes can be enhanced within vortex tubes

Vortex interactions can be attractive or repulsive in this background

Abstract

We study the dynamics of Abelian-Higgs vortices in the background of a coherently oscillating axion field. We show that the electric field is induced in the magnetic core of the vortex due to the axion-photon conversion. Moreover, because the electromagnetic field is confined in the vortex and excluded from the superconducting bulk regions due to the Meissner effect, the vortex tube can be regarded as a cylindrical cavity, and our numerical analysis shows that the resonant cavity mode (TM010 mode) can be efficiently enhanced in this tube. We also focus on the interaction of two vortices in the oscillating axion background, resulting in attractive or repulsive forces, even in the case with the BPS limit. These new features open up a new possibility for the axion dark matter search using superconducting devices.