arXiv subjects

Hyeonseok Seong

Publications and source records attributed to Hyeonseok Seong.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Stellar Superradiance and Low-Energy Absorption in Dense Nuclear Media

Ultralight bosons such as axions and dark photons are well-motivated hypothetical particles, whose couplings to ordinary matter can be effectively constrained by stellar cooling. Limits on these interactions can be obtained by demanding that their emission from the stellar interior does not lead to excessive energy loss. An intriguing question is whether the same microphysical couplings can also be probed through neutron star superradiance, in which gravitationally bound bosonic modes grow exponentially by extracting rotational energy from the star. Although both processes originate from boson-matter interactions, they probe very different kinematic regimes. Stellar cooling probes boson emission at thermal wavelengths, while superradiance is governed by modes whose wavelength is comparable to or greater than the size of the star. Previous work has attempted to relate the microphysical neutron-nucleon scattering and inverse-bremsstrahlung absorption rates directly to the macroscopic growth rate of superradiant bound states. In this work, we re-examine this connection and show that a naive extrapolation of the microphysical absorption rate to the superradiant regime would imply superradiant rates comparable to astrophysical timescales characterised by pulsar spindown. These naive rates are especially high for vector fields. However, we demonstrate that this conclusion changes once collective multiple-scattering effects in dense nuclear matter are taken into account. Repeated nucleon collisions modify the effective low-energy absorption experienced by the bosonic bound state, strongly suppressing the rate relevant for superradiance.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Inching toward the QCD Axions with Axion Magnetic Resonance in Helioscopes

Utilizing a helical magnet profile to enhance axion-photon conversion showed great promise in laboratory searches for high axion masses. We extend the mechanism, known as the axion-magnetic resonance (AMR), from laser experiments to axion helioscopes and demonstrate its potential in covering QCD axion parameter space. Specifically, we apply AMR to the CAST experiment legacy, make projections for the upcoming IAXO experiment, and assess its implications for both axion-like particles and QCD axions. We observe considerable improvement in the experiment's sensitivity reach in all cases.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Detectability of accretion-induced bosenovae in the Milky Way

We estimate collapse rates of axion stars in our galaxy based on the axion minicluster mass function of the Milky Way dark matter halo. We consider axion-like particles with different temperature evolution of the axion mass, including the QCD axion with $m_a=50\,μ$eV. Combining estimates for the present-day axion star mass function from our previous work with the axion star accretion model predicted by self-similar growth, we can infer the expected number of bosenovae occurring within the Milky Way. Our estimates suggest that for an observation time of $t_\mathrm{obs}=1\,$yr, the majority of the up to $\sim 10^{13}$ bosenovae per galaxy occur in the densest miniclusters with initial overdensity parameter $Φ\lesssim 10^4$. We discuss the detectability of such recurring axion bursts within our galactic vicinity and find that, for models with derivative couplings including axion-fermion interactions, potential broadband axion DM experiments can probe a large range of ALP masses $m_a\lesssim 10^{-6}\,$eV and with moderate improvements even the QCD axion case. For axions with non-derivative-type interactions like the axion-photon coupling, our analysis suggests that optimistic predictions with order-one dark matter abundance of axion stars $f_\star \sim 1$ can be probed by dedicated burst searches.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Radio Lines from accreting Axion Stars

Axion-like particles, which we call axions, can compose the missing dark matter and may form substructures such as miniclusters and axion stars. We obtain the mass distributions of axion stars derived from their host miniclusters in our galaxy and find a significant number of axion stars reaching the decay mass, the critical mass set by the axion-photon coupling. Axion stars that have reached the decay mass can accrete surrounding axions either via or directly from their host miniclusters, subsequently converting them into radio photons through parametric resonance. We demonstrate that this accretion provides observable signals by proposing two scenarios: 1) external accretion of background dark matter occurring via miniclusters, and 2) internal accretion of isolated systems occurring directly from the minicluster onto its core. The emitted radio photons are nearly monochromatic with energies around the half of the axion mass. The radio-line signal emanating from such axion stars provides a distinctive opportunity searching for axions, overcoming the widespread radio backgrounds. We estimate the expected radio-line flux density to constrain the axion-photon coupling $g_{aγγ}$ at each axion mass and find that the resultant line flux density is strong enough to be observed in radio telescopes such as LOFAR, FAST, ALMA, and upcoming SKA. We can constrain the axion-photon coupling down to $g_{aγγ} \simeq 10^{-12} - 10^{-11}\,{\rm GeV}^{-1}$, reaching even $10^{-13}\,{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ depending on the accretion models of axion stars, over an axion mass range of $m_a\simeq 10^{-7} - 10^{-2}\,{\rm eV}$. From a different perspective, this radio-line signal could be a strong hint of an axion at the corresponding mass and also of axion stars within our galaxy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Axion emission from strange matter in core-collapse SNe

The duration of the neutrino burst from the supernova event SN 1987A is known to be sensitive to exotic sources of cooling, such as axions radiated from the dense and hot hadronic matter thought to constitute the inner core of the supernova. We perform the first quantitative study of the role of hadronic matter beyond the first generation -- in particular strange matter. We do so by consistently including the full baryon and meson octets, and computing axion emissivity induced from baryon-meson to baryon-axion scatterings as well as from baryon decays. We consider a range of supernova thermodynamic conditions, as well as equation-of-state models with different strangeness content. We obtain the first bound on the axial axion-strange-strange coupling, as well as the strongest existing bound on the axion-down-strange counterpart. Our bound on the latter coupling can be as small as $O(10^{-2})$ for $f_a = 10^9$ GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Axion Magnetic Resonance: A Novel Enhancement in Axion-Photon Conversion

We identify a new resonance, axion magnetic resonance (AMR), that can greatly enhance the conversion rate between axions and photons. A series of axion search experiments rely on converting them into photons inside a constant magnetic field background. A common bottleneck of such experiments is the conversion amplitude being suppressed by the axion mass when $m_a \gtrsim 10^{-4}~$eV. We point out that a spatial or temporal variation in the magnetic field can cancel the difference between the photon dispersion relation and that of the axion, hence greatly enhancing the conversion probability. We demonstrate that the enhancement can be achieved by both a helical magnetic field profile and a harmonic oscillation of the magnitude. Our approach can extend the projected ALPS II reach in the axion-photon coupling ($g_{aγ}$) by two orders of magnitude at $m_a = 10^{-3}\;\mathrm{eV}$ with moderate assumptions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Axion dark matter with thermal friction

Cosmological evolution of axion field in the early universe might be significantly affected by a thermal friction induced by the axion coupling to thermalized hidden sector. We examine the effects of such a thermal friction on axion dark matter density and its perturbation when the thermal friction dominates over the Hubble friction until when the axion field begins to oscillate around the potential minimum. We show that in the presence of sizable thermal friction there can be an exponential decay phase of the axion field before the oscillation phase, during which the axion energy density is efficiently dissipated into hidden thermal bath. Consequently, the previously excluded parameter region due to overclosing relic axion density becomes cosmologically viable with thermal friction. In particular, a QCD axion much lighter than $μ$eV is viable without tuning the initial misalignment angle. We also find that thermal friction can affect the density perturbation of axion dark matter in various ways. For instance, it can alleviate the large-scale isocurvature bound on axion dark matter in the pre-inflationary PQ breaking scenario, which would make the pre-inflationary axion dark matter compatible with high scale inflation over a wide range of model parameters. In the post-inflationary PQ breaking scenario, thermal friction can also significantly change the scaling behavior of axionic strings, and therefore the typical size of the resultant axion miniclusters.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Axion emission from supernova with axion-pion-nucleon contact interaction

We examine the axion emission from supernovae with a complete set of relevant axion couplings including the axion-pion-nucleon contact interaction which was ignored in the previous studies. Two processes are affected by the axion-pion-nucleon contact interaction, $π^-+p \rightarrow n + a$ and $n+p\rightarrow n+p+a$, and these processes can be the dominant source of axions for some region in the axion parameter space or in astrophysical conditions encountered inside supernovae. We find that the contact interaction can enhance the axion emissivity of $π^-+p \rightarrow n + a$ by a factor of $2-4$, while the effect on $n+p\rightarrow n+p+a$ is not significant. We also discuss the relative importance of other pion-induced processes such as $π^0+n\rightarrow n+a$ and $π^-+π^0\rightarrow π^-+a$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Precision axion physics with running axion couplings

We study the renormalization group running of axion couplings while taking into account that the Standard Model can be extended to its supersymmetric extension at a certain energy scale below the axion decay constant. We then apply our results to three different classes of axion models, i.e. KSVZ-like, DFSZ-like, and string-theoretic axions, and examine if string-theoretic axions can be distinguished from others by having a different pattern of low energy couplings to the photon, nucleons and electron. We find that the low energy couplings of string-theoretic axions have a similar pattern as those of KSVZ-like axions but yet reveal a sizable difference which might be testable in future axion search experiments. We also note that the coupling of KSVZ-like QCD axions to the electron is dominated by a three-loop contribution involving the exotic heavy quark, gluons, top quark and Higgs field.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Gamma-ray spectral modulations induced by photon-ALP-dark photon oscillations

Recently it has been noticed that the Fermi-LAT data of gamma-rays from some galactic pulsars and supernova remnants reveal spectral modulations that might be explained by the conversion of photons to ALPs (axion-like particles) induced by the conventional ALP coupling to photon in the presence of galactic magnetic fields. However the corresponding ALP mass and coupling are in a severe tension with the observational constraints from CAST, SN1987A, and other gamma-ray observations. Motivated by this, we examine an alternative possibility that those spectral modulations are explained by other type of ALP coupling involving both the ordinary photon and a massless dark photon, when nonzero background dark photon gauge fields are assumed. We find that our scheme results in oscillations among the photon, ALP, and dark photon, which can explain the gamma-ray spectral modulations of galactic pulsars or supernova remnants, while satisfying the known observational constraints.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Axion-photon-dark photon oscillation and its implication for 21 cm observation

We examine the resonant conversion of axion-like particle (ALP) or dark photon to the electromagnetic photon in the early Universe, which takes place due to the ALP-photon-dark photon oscillations in background dark photon gauge fields. It is noted that the corresponding conversion probability can have an unusual spectral feature which allows strong conversion at low frequency domain, but has negligible conversion at high frequencies above certain critical frequency which is determined by the ALP coupling to dark photon and the strength of background dark photon gauge field. We apply this scheme to heat up the 21 cm photons without affecting the Cosmic Microwave Background, which can explain the tentative absorption signal of 21 cm photons detected recently by the EDGES experiment.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Gravitational waves from first-order phase transitions: Ultra-supercooled transitions and the fate of relativistic shocks

We study the gravitational wave (GW) production in extremely strong first order phase transitions where the latent heat density dominates the plasma energy density, $α\gtrsim 1$. In such transitions, bubbles develop extremely thin and relativistic fluid configurations, resulting in strong shock waves after collisions. We first propose a strategy to understand the GW production in such a system by separating the problem into the propagation part and the collision part. Focusing on the former, we next develop an effective theory for the propagation of the relativistic fluid shells. Using this effective theory, we finally calculate the expected duration of the relativistic fluid configurations and discuss its implications to the GW production.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Gravitational waves from first-order phase transitions: Towards model separation by bubble nucleation rate

We study gravitational-wave production from bubble collisions in a cosmic first-order phase transition, focusing on the possibility of model separation by the bubble nucleation rate dependence of the resulting gravitational-wave spectrum. By using the method of relating the spectrum with the two-point correlator of the energy-momentum tensor $\left< T(x)T(y) \right>$, we first write down analytic expressions for the spectrum with a Gaussian correction to the commonly used nucleation rate, $Γ\propto e^{βt}\rightarrow e^{βt-γ^2t^2}$, under the thin-wall and envelope approximations. Then we quantitatively investigate how the spectrum changes with the size of the Gaussian correction. It is found that the spectral shape shows ${\mathcal O}(10)\%$ deviation from $Γ\propto e^{βt}$ case for some physically motivated scenarios. We also briefly discuss detector sensitivities required to distinguish different spectral shapes.

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