arXiv subjects

David J. E. Marsh

Publications and source records attributed to David J. E. Marsh.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Global fits of axion-like particles to XENON1T and astrophysical data

The excess of electron recoil events seen by the XENON1T experiment has been interpreted as a potential signal of axion-like particles (ALPs), either produced in the Sun, or constituting part of the dark matter halo of the Milky Way. It has also been explained as a consequence of trace amounts of tritium in the experiment. We consider the evidence for the solar and dark-matter ALP hypotheses from the combination of XENON1T data and multiple astrophysical probes, including horizontal branch stars, red giants, and white dwarfs. We briefly address the influence of ALP decays and supernova cooling. While the different datasets are in clear tension for the case of solar ALPs, all measurements can be simultaneously accommodated for the case of a sub-dominant fraction of dark-matter ALPs. Nevertheless, this solution requires the tuning of several a priori unknown parameters, such that for our choices of priors a Bayesian analysis shows no strong preference for the ALP interpretation of the XENON1T excess over the background hypothesis.

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arXiv2021

New insights into the formation and growth of boson stars in dark matter halos

This work studies the formation and growth of boson stars and their surrounding miniclusters by gravitational condensation using non-linear dynamical numerical methods. Fully dynamical attractive and repulsive self-interactions are also considered for the first time. In the case of pure gravity, we numerically prove that the growth of boson stars inside halos slows down and saturates as has been previously conjectured, and detail its conditions. Self-interactions are included using the Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson equations. We find that in the case of strong attractive self-interactions the boson stars can become unstable and collapse, in agreement with previous stationary computations. At even stronger coupling, the condensate fragments. Repulsive self-interactions, as expected, promote boson star formation, and lead to solutions with larger radii.

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arXiv2020

Intensity Mapping as a Probe of Axion Dark Matter

Intensity mapping (IM) of spectral lines has the potential to revolutionize cosmology by increasing the total number of observed modes by several orders of magnitude compared to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. In this paper, we consider IM of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the redshift range $0 \lesssim z \lesssim 3$ employing a halo model approach where HI is assumed to follow the distribution of dark matter (DM) halos. If a portion of the DM is composed of ultralight axions then the abundance of halos is changed compared to cold dark matter below the axion Jeans mass. With fixed total HI density, $Ω_{\rm HI}$, assumed to reside entirely in halos, this effect introduces a scale-independent increase in the HI power spectrum on scales above the axion Jeans scale, which our model predicts consistent with N-body simulations. Lighter axions introduce a scale-dependent feature even on linear scales due to its suppression of the matter power spectrum near the Jeans scale. We use the Fisher matrix formalism to forecast the ability of future HI surveys to constrain the axion fraction of DM and marginalize over astrophysical and model uncertainties. We find that a HIRAX-like survey is a very reliable IM survey configuration, being affected minimally by uncertainties due to non-linear scales, while the SKA1MID configuration is the most constraining as it is sensitive to non-linear scales. Including non-linear scales and combining a SKA1MID-like IM survey with the Simons Observatory CMB, the benchmark "fuzzy DM" model with $m_a = 10^{-22}\text{ eV}$ can be constrained at the 10% level. For lighter ULAs this limit improves below 1%, and allows the possibility to test the connection between axion models and the grand unification scale across a wide range of masses.

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arXiv2020

Opening the 1$\,$Hz axion window

An axion-like particle (ALP) with mass $m_ϕ\sim 10^{-15}$eV oscillates with frequency $\sim$1 Hz. This mass scale lies in an open window of astrophysical constraints, and appears naturally as a consequence of grand unification (GUT) in string/M-theory. However, with a GUT-scale decay constant such an ALP overcloses the Universe, and cannot solve the strong CP problem. In this paper, we present a two axion model in which the 1 Hz ALP constitutes the entirety of the dark matter (DM) while the QCD axion solves the strong CP problem but contributes negligibly to the DM relic density. The mechanism to achieve the correct relic densities relies on low-scale inflation ($m_ϕ\lesssim H_{\rm inf}\lesssim 1$ MeV), and we present explicit realisations of such a model. The scale in the axion potential leading to the 1 Hz axion generates a value for the strong CP phase which oscillates around $\barθ_{\rm QCD}\sim 10^{-12}$, within reach of the proton storage ring electric dipole moment experiment. The 1 Hz axion is also in reach of near future laboratory and astrophysical searches.

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arXiv2020

Evolving Ultralight Scalars into Non-Linearity with Lagrangian Perturbation Theory

Many models of high energy physics suggest that the cosmological dark sector consists of not just one, but a spectrum of ultralight scalar particles with logarithmically distributed masses. To study the potential signatures of low concentrations of ultralight axion (also known as fuzzy) dark matter, we modify Lagrangian perturbation theory (LPT) by distinguishing between trajectories of different dark matter species. We further adapt LPT to include the effects of a quantum pressure, which is necessary to generate correct initial conditions for ultralight axion simulations. Based on LPT, our modified scheme is extremely efficient on large scales and it can be extended to an arbitrary number of particle species at very little computational cost. This allows for computation of self-consistent initial conditions in mixed dark matter models. Additionally, we find that shell-crossing is delayed for ultralight particles and that the deformation tensor extracted from LPT can be used to identify the range of redshifts and scales for which the Madelung formalism of fuzzy dark matter is a reliable approximation.

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arXiv2020

Light by Light Scattering as a New Probe for Axions

We study the impact of virtual axions on the polarization of photons inside a cavity during the interaction of high-power laser pulses. A novel detection scheme for measuring the axion-induced ellipticity signal during the Light-by-Light (LBL) scattering process is investigated. We show that a momentum exchange between photons in a probe laser beam and a high-intensity target beam may lead to a resonance at the physical mass of the axion. Consequently, the resonant enhancement of vacuum birefringence gives rise to a large ellipticity signal. This signal enhancement can be applied in order to discriminate between the axion contribution to LBL scattering and the standard model contribution due to electron-positron pairs. The sensitivity of the scheme is studied for experimentally feasible probe light sources and ultrahigh intensity laser backgrounds. It is shown that this technique has the potential to probe the QCD axion in the mass range $10^{-2} \textrm{eV} \lesssim m_{a} \lesssim 1 \textrm{eV}$. In this region the axion induced signal surpasses the standard model background.

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arXiv2019

Structure Formation and Microlensing with Axion Miniclusters

If the symmetry breaking responsible for axion dark matter production occurs during the radiation-dominated epoch in the early Universe, then this produces large amplitude perturbations that collapse into dense objects known as axion miniclusters. The characteristic minicluster mass, $M_0$, is set by the mass inside the horizon when axion oscillations begin. For the QCD axion $M_0\sim 10^{-10}M_\odot$, however for an axion-like particle $M_0$ can approach $M_\odot$ or higher. Using the Press-Schechter formalism we compute the mass function of halos formed by hierarchical structure formation from these seeds. We compute the concentrations and collapse times of these halos and show that they can grow to be as massive as $10^6M_0$. Within the halos, miniclusters likely remain tightly bound, and we compute their gravitational microlensing signal taking the fraction of axion dark matter collapsed into miniclusters, $f_{\rm MC}$, as a free parameter. A large value of $f_{\rm MC}$ severely weakens constraints on axion scenarios from direct detection experiments. We take into account the non-Gaussian distribution of sizes of miniclusters and determine how this effects the number of microlensing events. We develop the tools to consider microlensing by an extended mass function of non-point-like objects, and use microlensing data to place the first observational constraints on $f_{\rm MC}$. This opens a new window for the potential discovery of the axion.

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arXiv2019

A Proposal to Detect Dark Matter Using Axionic Topological Antiferromagnets

Antiferromagnetically doped topological insulators (A-TI) are among the candidates to host dynamical axion fields and axion-polaritons; weakly interacting quasiparticles that are analogous to the dark axion, a long sought after candidate dark matter particle. Here we demonstrate that using the axion quasiparticle antiferromagnetic resonance in A-TI's in conjunction with low-noise methods of detecting THz photons presents a viable route to detect axion dark matter with mass 0.7 to 3.5 meV, a range currently inaccessible to other dark matter detection experiments and proposals. The benefits of this method at high frequency are the tunability of the resonance with applied magnetic field, and the use of A-TI samples with volumes much larger than 1 mm$^3$.

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arXiv2019

Strong Constraints on Fuzzy Dark Matter from Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxy Eridanus II

The fuzzy dark matter (FDM) model treats DM as a bosonic field with astrophysically large de Broglie wavelength. A striking feature of this model is $\mathcal{O}(1)$ fluctuations in the dark matter density on time scales which are shorter than the gravitational timescale. Including for the first time the effect of core oscillations, we demonstrate how such fluctuations lead to heating of star clusters, and thus an increase in their size over time. From the survival of the old star cluster in Eridanus II we infer $m_a\gtrsim 0.6\rightarrow 1\times 10^{-19}\text{ eV}$ within modelling uncertainty if FDM is to compose all of the DM, and derive constraints on the FDM fraction at lower masses. The subhalo mass function in the Milky Way implies $m_a\gtrsim 0.8\times 10^{-21}\text{ eV}$ to successfully form Eridanus II. The window between $10^{-21}\text{ eV}\lesssim m_a\lesssim 10^{-20}\text{ eV}$ is affected by narrow band resonances, and the limited applicability of the diffusion approximation. Some of this window may be consistent with observations of Eridanus II and more detailed investigations are required.

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arXiv2019

Gravitational probes of ultra-light axions

The axion is a hypothetical, well-motivated dark-matter particle whose existence would explain the lack of charge-parity violation in the strong interaction. In addition to this original motivation, an `axiverse' of ultra-light axions (ULAs) with masses $10^{-33}\,{\rm eV}\lesssim m_{\rm a}\lesssim 10^{-10}\,{\rm eV}$ also emerges from string theory. Depending on the mass, such a ULA contributes to the dark-matter density, or alternatively, behaves like dark energy. At these masses, ULAs' classical wave-like properties are astronomically manifested, potentially mitigating observational tensions within the $Λ$CDM paradigm on local-group scales. ULAs also provide signatures on small scales such as suppression of structure, interference patterns and solitons to distinguish them from heavier dark matter candidates. Through their gravitational imprint, ULAs in the presently allowed parameter space furnish a host of observational tests to target in the next decade, altering standard predictions for microwave background anisotropies, galaxy clustering, Lyman-$α$ absorption by neutral hydrogen along quasar sightlines, pulsar timing, and the black-hole mass spectrum.

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arXiv2018

Formation of Relativistic Axion Stars

Axions and axion-like particles are compelling candidates for the missing dark matter of the universe. As they undergo gravitational collapse, they can form compact objects such as axion stars or even black holes. In this paper, we study the formation and distribution of such objects. First, we simulate the formation of compact axion stars using numerical relativity with aspherical initial conditions that could represent the final stages of axion dark matter structure formation. We show that the final states of such collapse closely follow the known relationship of initial mass and axion decay constant $f_a$. Second, we demonstrate with a toy model how this information can be used to scan a model density field to predict the number densities and masses of such compact objects. In addition to being detectable by the LIGO/VIRGO gravitational wave interferometer network for axion mass of $10^{-9} < m_a < 10^{-11}$ eV, we show using peak statistics that for $f_a < 0.2M_{pl}$, there exists a "mass gap" between the masses of axion stars and black holes formed from collapse.

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arXiv2018

Black Hole Spin Constraints on the Mass Spectrum and Number of Axion-like Fields

Astrophysical observations of spinning BHs, which span $ 5M_\odot\lesssim M_{\rm BH}\lesssim 5\times 10^8 M_\odot$, can be used to exclude the existence of certain massive bosons via the superradiance phenomenon. In this work, we explore for the first time how these measurements can be used to constrain properties of statistical distributions for the masses of multiple bosonic fields. Quite generally, our methodology excludes $N_{\rm ax}\gtrsim 30$ scalar fields with a range of mass distribution widths and central values spanning many orders of magnitude. We demonstrate this for the specific example of axions in string theory and M-theory, where the mass distributions in certain cases take universal forms. We place upper bounds on $N_{\rm ax}$ for certain scenarios of interest realised approximately as mass distributions in M-theory, including the QCD axion, grand unified theories, and fuzzy dark matter.

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arXiv2017

Axions and ALPs: a very short introduction

The QCD axion was originally predicted as a dynamical solution to the strong CP problem. Axion like particles (ALPs) are also a generic prediction of many high energy physics models including string theory. Theoretical models for axions are reviewed, giving a generic multi-axion action with couplings to the standard model. The couplings and masses of these axions can span many orders of magnitude, and cosmology leads us to consider several distinct populations of axions behaving as coherent condensates, or relativistic particles. Light, stable axions are a mainstay dark matter candidate. Axion cosmology and calculation of the relic density are reviewed. A very brief survey is given of the phenomenology of axions arising from their direct couplings to the standard model, and their distinctive gravitational interactions.

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arXiv2017

Constraining the mass of light bosonic dark matter using SDSS Lyman-$α$ forest

If a significant fraction of the dark matter in the Universe is made of an ultra-light scalar field, named fuzzy dark matter (FDM) with a mass $m_a$ of the order of $10^{-22}-10^{-21}$ eV, then its de Broglie wavelength is large enough to impact the physics of large scale structure formation. In particular, the associated cut-off in the linear matter power spectrum modifies the structure of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at the scales probed by the Lyman-$α$ forest of distant quasars. We study this effect by making use of dedicated cosmological simulations which take into account the hydrodynamics of the IGM. We explore heuristically the amplitude of quantum pressure for the FDM masses considered here and conclude that quantum effects should not modify significantly the non-linear evolution of matter density at the scales relevant to the measured Lyman-$α$ flux power, and for $m_a \geq 10^{-22}$ eV. We derive a scaling law between $m_a$ and the mass of the well-studied thermal warm dark matter (WDM) model that is best adapted to the Lyman-$α$ forest data, and differs significantly from the one infered by a simple linear extrapolation. By comparing FDM simulations with the Lyman-$α$ flux power spectra determined from the BOSS survey, and marginalizing over relevant nuisance parameters, we exclude FDM masses in the range $10^{-22} \leq m_a < 2.3\times 10^{-21}$ eV at 95 % CL. Adding higher-resolution Lyman-$α$ spectra extends the exclusion range up to $2.9\times 10^{-21}$ eV. This provides a significant constraint on FDM models tailored to solve the "small-scale problems" of $Λ$CDM.

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arXiv2017

Unbiased constraints on ultralight axion mass from dwarf spheroidal galaxies

It has been suggested that the internal dynamics of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) can be used to test whether or not ultralight axions with $m_a\sim 10^{-22}\text{eV}$ are a preferred dark matter candidate. However, comparisons to theoretical predictions tend to be inconclusive for the simple reason that while most cosmological models consider only dark matter, one observes only baryons. Here we use realistic kinematic mock data catalogs of Milky Way dSph's to show that the "mass-anisotropy degeneracy" in the Jeans equations leads to biased bounds on the axion mass in galaxies with unknown dark matter halo profiles. In galaxies with multiple chemodynamical components this bias can be partly removed by modelling the mass enclosed within each subpopulation. However, analysis of the mock data reveals that the least-biased constraints on the axion mass result from fitting the luminosity-averaged velocity dispersion of the individual chemodynamical components directly. Applying our analysis to two dSph's with reported stellar subcomponents, Fornax and Sculptor, and assuming that the halo profile has not been acted on by baryons, yields core radii $r_{c}>1.5$ kpc and $r_c> 1.2$ kpc respectively, and $m_a<0.4\times 10^{-22}\text{eV}$ at 97.5\% confidence. These bounds are in tension with the number of observed satellites derived from simple (but conservative) estimates of the subhalo mass function in Milky Way-like galaxies. We discuss how baryonic feedback might affect our results, and the impact of such a small axion mass on the growth of structures in the Universe.

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arXiv2017

Using the Full Power of the Cosmic Microwave Background to Probe Axion Dark Matter

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) places strong constraints on models of dark matter (DM) that deviate from standard cold DM (CDM), and on initial conditions beyond the scalar adiabatic mode. Here, the full \textit{Planck} data set (including temperature, $E$-mode polarisation, and lensing deflection) is used to test the possibility that some fraction of the DM is composed of ultralight axions (ULAs). This represents the first use of CMB lensing to test the ULA model. We find no evidence for a ULA component in the mass range $10^{-33}\leq m_a\leq 10^{-24}\text{ eV}$. We put percent-level constraints on the ULA contribution to the DM, improving by up to a factor of two compared to the case with temperature anisotropies alone. Axion DM also provides a low-energy window onto the high-energy physics of inflation through the interplay between the vacuum misalignment production of axions and isocurvature perturbations. We perform the first systematic investigation into the parameter space of ULA isocurvature, using an accurate isocurvature transfer function at all $m_{a}$ values. We precisely identify a "window of co-existence" for $10^{-25}\text{ eV}\leq m_a\leq10^{-24}\text{ eV}$ where the data allow, simultaneously, a $\sim10\%$ contribution of ULAs to the DM, and $\sim 1\%$ contributions of isocurvature and tensors to the CMB power. ULAs in this window (and \textit{all} lighter ULAs) are shown to be consistent with a large inflationary Hubble parameter, $H_I\sim 10^{14}\text{ GeV}$. The window of co-existence will be fully probed by proposed CMB-S4 observations with increased accuracy in the high-$\ell$ lensing power and low-$\ell$ $E$ and $B$-mode polarisation. If ULAs in the window exist, this could allow for two independent measurements of $H_I$ in the CMB using the axion DM content and isocurvature, and the tensor contribution to $B$-modes.

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arXiv2017

A Model For Halo Formation With Axion Mixed Dark Matter

There are several issues to do with dwarf galaxy predictions in the standard $Λ$CDM cosmology that have suscitated much recent debate about the possible modification of the nature of dark matter as providing a solution. We explore a novel solution involving ultra-light axions that can potentially resolve the missing satellites problem, the cusp-core problem, and the `too big to fail' problem. We discuss approximations to non-linear structure formation in dark matter models containing a component of ultra-light axions across four orders of magnitude in mass, $10^{-24}\text{ eV}\lesssim m_a \lesssim 10^{-20}\text{ eV}$, a range too heavy to be well constrained by linear cosmological probes such as the CMB and matter power spectrum, and too light/non-interacting for other astrophysical or terrestrial axion searches. We find that an axion of mass $m_a\approx 10^{-21}\text{ eV}$ contributing approximately $85\%$ of the total dark matter can introduce a significant kpc scale core in a typical Milky Way satellite galaxy in sharp contrast to a thermal relic with a transfer function cut off at the same scale, while still allowing such galaxies to form in significant number. Therefore ultra-light axions do not suffer from the \emph{Catch 22} that applies to using a warm dark matter as a solution to the small scale problems of cold dark matter. Our model simultaneously allows formation of enough high redshift galaxies to allow reconciliation with observational constraints, and also reduces the maximum circular velocities of massive dwarfs so that baryonic feedback may more plausibly resolve the predicted overproduction of massive MWG dwarf satellites.

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arXiv2017

The Spectrum of the Axion Dark Sector

Axions arise in many theoretical extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular the "string axiverse". If the axion masses, $m_a$, and (effective) decay constants, $f_a$, lie in specific ranges, then axions contribute to the cosmological dark matter and dark energy densities. We compute the background cosmological (quasi-)observables for models with a large number of axion fields, $n_{\rm ax}\sim \mathcal{O}(10-100)$, with the masses and decay constants drawn from statistical distributions. This reduces the number of parameters from $2n_{\rm ax}$ to a small number of "hyperparameters". We consider a number of distributions, from those motivated purely by statistical considerations, to those where the structure is specified according to a class of M-theory models. Using Bayesian methods we are able to constrain the hyperparameters of the distributions. In some cases the hyperparameters can be related to string theory, e.g. constraining the number ratio of axions to moduli, or the typical decay constant scale needed to provide the correct relic densities. Our methodology incorporates the use of both random matrix theory and Bayesian networks.

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