First indirect detection constraints on axions in the Solar basin

Understand

Axions with masses of order keV can be produced in great abundance within the Solar core.

• The majority of Sun-produced axions escape to infinity, but a small fraction of the flux is produced with speeds below the escape velocity.
• Over time, this process populates a basin of slow-moving axions trapped on bound orbits.
• These axions can decay to two photons, yielding an observable signature.