Axion signatures from supernova explosions through the nucleon electric-dipole portal
Giuseppe Lucente, Leonardo Mastrototaro, Pierluca Carenza, Luca Di Luzio, Maurizio Giannotti, Alessandro Mirizzi
Abstract
We consider axions coupled to nucleons and photons only through the nucleon electric-dipole moment (EDM) portal. This coupling is a model-independent feature of QCD axions, which solve the strong CP problem, and might arise as well in more general axionlike particle setups. We revise the supernova (SN) axion emission induced by the nucleon EDM coupling and refine accordingly the SN 1987A bound. Furthermore, we calculate the axion flux from a future Galactic SN and show that it might produce a peculiar and potentially detectable gamma-ray signal in a large underground neutrino detector such as the proposed Hyper-Kamiokande. The possibility to detect such a signal offers a way to search for an oscillating nucleon EDM complementary to CASPERe, without relying on the assumption that axions are a sizeable component of the dark matter. Furthermore, if axions from SN produce an observable signal, they could also lead to an amount of cosmological extra radiation observable in future cosmic sur...