Constraints on Axion-like Particles from X-Ray Observations of NGC1275


Type
Article
Change log
Authors
Berg, Marcus 
Conlon, Joseph P 
Jennings, Nicholas 
Krippendorf, Sven 
Abstract

Axion-like particles (ALPs) can induce localized oscillatory modulations in the spectra of photon sources passing through astrophysical magnetic fields. Ultra-deep Chandra observations of the Perseus cluster contain over 105 counts from the active galactic nucleus (AGN) of the central cluster galaxy NGC1275 and represent a data set of extraordinary quality for ALP searches. We use this data set to search for X-ray spectral irregularities from the AGN. The absence of irregularities at the O(30%) level allows us to place leading constraints on the ALP-photon mixing parameter gaγγ≲1.4--4.0×10−12GeV−1 for ma10−12eV, depending on assumptions on the magnetic field realization along the line of sight.

Description
Keywords
elementary particles, X-rays: galaxies: clusters, X-rays: individual (NGC1275)
Journal Title
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0004-637X
1538-4357
Volume Title
847
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Sponsorship
European Research Council