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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
The axion provides a solution to the strong CP problem and is a cold dark matter candidate. I'll briefly review the limits on the axion from particle physics, stellar evolution and cosmology. The various constraints suggest that the axion mass is in the micro-eV to milli-eV range. In this range, axions contribute significantly to the energy density of the universe in the form of cold dark matter. It has recently been found that cold dark matter axions thermalize and form a Bose-Einstein condensate. As a result, it may be possible to distinguish axion dark matter from other dark matter candidates, such as weakly interacting massive particles, on observational grounds.Bose-Einstein condensation of dark matter axions may provide a mechanism for the production of net overall rotation in dark matter halos, and for the alignment of cosmic microwave anisotropy multipoles.
Host: Eddy Timmermans, CNLS