Searching for Time-Dependent Axion Dark Matter Signals in Pulsars

Understand

Axion dark matter can be converted into photons in the magnetospheres of neutron stars leading to a spectral line centred on the Compton wavelength of the axion.

• Due to the rotation of the star and the plasma effects in the magnetosphere the signal is predicted to be periodic with significant time variation - a unique smoking gun for axion dark matter.
• As a proof of principle and to develop the methodology, we carry out the first time domain search of the signal using data from PSR J2144$-$3933 taken as part of the MeerTIME project on MeerKAT telescope.
• We search for specific signal templates using a matched filter technique and discuss when a time-domain analysis (as is typically the case in pulsar observations) gives greater sensitivity to the axion-coupling to photons in comparison to a simple time-averaged total flux study.