Counting axions with IAXO
The existence of multiple axion species is a generic prediction of a number of extensions of the Standard Model. If more than one axion couples to photons, their combined signal in helioscope experiments may mimic that of a single axion with different parameters. This raises a fundamental question: if a next-generation helioscope such as IAXO detected a signal, would we be able to disentangle whether it originated from one or multiple axions? To answer this question, we first recast current CAST bounds and derive IAXO/IAXO+ projections in the two-axion parameter space, identifying the regions where a signal could be observed. Then, we analyze the spectral signatures of axion flavor oscillations in both the quasi-degenerate and hierarchical mass regimes, and point out where IAXO can discriminate a two-axion signal from the single-axion hypothesis given the expected energy resolutions of the detector. Finally, we show that these results extend to a broad class of $N$-axion systems.