Solar Axions Cannot Explain the XENON1T Excess
Luca Di Luzio, Marco Fedele, Maurizio Giannotti, Federico Mescia, Enrico Nardi
Abstract
We argue that the interpretation in terms of solar axions of the recent XENON1T excess is not tenable when confronted with astrophysical observations of stellar evolution. We discuss the reasons why the emission of a flux of solar axions sufficiently intense to explain the anomalous data would radically alter the distribution of certain type of stars in the color-magnitude diagram in the first place and would also clash with a certain number of other astrophysical observables. Quantitatively, the significance of the discrepancy ranges from 3.3σ for the rate of period change of pulsating white dwarfs and exceeds 19σ for the R parameter and for M_{I,TRGB}.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsAxionAstrophysicsObservableStarsWhite dwarfDiagramFlux (metallurgy)Dark matterQuantum mechanicsStatisticsMetallurgyMaterials scienceMathematicsDark Matter and Cosmic PhenomenaCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics