The Search for Dark Matter Axions
Abstract
Description
Axions solve the Strong CP Problem and are a cold dark matter candidate. The combined constraints from accelerator searches, stellar evolution limits and cosmology suggest that the axion mass is in the range $3 \cdot 10^{-3} > m_a > 10^{-6}$ eV. The lower bound can, however, be relaxed in a number of ways. I discuss the constraint on axion models from the absence of isocurvature perturbations. Dark matter axions can be searched for on Earth by stimulating their conversion to microwave photons in an electromagnetic cavity permeated by a magnetic field. Using this technique, limits on the local halo density have been obtained by the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment.
10 pages, invited talk at the 41st Rencontre de Moriond on Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories, La Thuile, Italy, March 11-18, 2006. Three references were added
10 pages, invited talk at the 41st Rencontre de Moriond on Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories, La Thuile, Italy, March 11-18, 2006. Three references were added