Searching for Axion-like particle Dark Matter with Time-domain Polarization: Constraints from a protoplanetary disk

TL;DR

This study uses multi-epoch polarization data from a protoplanetary disk to set new constraints on axion-like particle dark matter, demonstrating the potential of time-domain polarization analysis for probing ultralight dark matter.

Contribution

It introduces a multi-epoch polarization analysis of a protoplanetary disk to constrain ALP-photon coupling, providing the first such limits from disk polarization variability.

Findings

Derived upper limits on ALP-photon coupling strength.

Demonstrated sensitivity of polarization variability to ALP-induced birefringence.

Forecasted improved constraints with higher polarization angle precision.

Abstract

Axion-like particles (ALPs) can induce a birefringence effect that rotates the polarization angle of light, offering a probe of ultralight dark matter. We analyze archival near-infrared polarimetric data of the protoplanetary disk (PPD) around HD 163296. Whereas previous studies considered only single-epoch snapshots, we perform a consistent multi-epoch time-series analysis, extracting the polarization angle and its uncertainty from the polarized images. The resulting six-epoch time series is consistent with a constant polarization angle within the measurement uncertainties, while being sensitive to timescales of $\sim 170-400$ days. The typical polarization angle uncertainties are $1.6$--$6.4$ degrees, partly driven by multiple scattering in the optically thick disk, which broadens the intrinsic polarization angle distribution and introduces additional dispersion in the representative polarization angle. Based on these data, we derive the first upper limits on the ALP-photon coupling from PPD polarization variability, $g_{a\gamma} \lesssim 7.5 \times 10^{-12} (m_a / 10^{-22}\,{\rm eV})\,{\rm GeV}^{-1}$. Furthermore, we forecast that achieving a polarization angle uncertainty of $\sigma \sim 0.1$ degrees would enable world-leading sensitivity to ALP-induced birefringence.