Proposal to use laser-accelerated electrons to probe the axion-electron coupling

TL;DR

This paper explores using laser-accelerated electrons to produce and detect axions, aiming to establish new bounds on axion-electron coupling through feasible high-intensity laser experiments.

Contribution

It proposes a novel experimental approach employing laser-accelerated electrons to probe axion-electron interactions and estimates the potential bounds achievable.

Findings

Calculated axion emission probability and energy for accelerated electrons.

Estimated axion production rates using high-intensity laser setups.

Discussed the potential for competitive bounds on axion-electron coupling.

Abstract

The axion is a hypothetical particle associated with a possible solution to the strong CP problem and is a leading candidate for dark matter. In this paper we investigate the emission of axions by accelerated electrons. We find the emission probability and energy within the WKB approximation for an electron accelerated by an electromagnetic field. As an application, we estimate the number of axions produced by electrons accelerated using two counter-propagating high-intensity lasers and discuss how they would be converted to photons to be detected. We find that, under realistic experimental conditions, competitive model-independent bounds on the coupling between the axion and the electron could be achieved in such an experiment.