Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 54 min ago
PreprintarXiv licencearXiv

Landau-Zener formula and resonant axion conversion in neutron star magnetospheres

  • Matti Heikinheimo
  • Topi Sirkiä
  • Kimmo Tuominen
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

We investigate the Landau-Zener description of resonant axion-photon conversion in neutron star magnetospheres. We find that this picture often fails for axion conversions to millimeter-to-optical band photons due to the characteristic resonance width exceeding the size of the conversion region. This comparison of scales yields a simple criterion for evaluating the validity of the Landau-Zener formula. We verify this criterion numerically, and show that when invalid, the Landau-Zener conversion probability may significantly deviate from the numerical result. In light of these findings, we revise constraints on axions from neutron star optical-band polarization searches.

Related

  1. 1D PIC Simulations of Resonant Scattering-Driven Pair Cascades in Magnetar Magnetospheres
    Jens F. Mahlmann, Alexander A. Philippov, Adrien Soudais +2
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textHigh-energy astrophysicsSolar & stellar physicsarXiv
  2. Radiation Reaction in Relativistic Magnetized Shocks of Neutron Star Magnetospheres
    Arno Vanthieghem, Amir Levinson
    HALPreprintarXiv licenceFull textHigh-energy astrophysicsPlasma physicsHALarXiv
  3. Resonant neutrino flavor conversion within dark matter spikes
    P. S. Bhupal Dev, Elisa Gaido, Alejandro Ibarra +1
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textHigh-energy astrophysicsHigh-energy & particle physicsarXiv
  4. Andreev Beta Conversion and Bulk Viscosity in Superfluid Neutron-Star Matter
    Tingyu Zhang, Honoka Hoshino, Hiroyuki Tajima +2
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textHigh-energy astrophysicsSolar & stellar physicsarXiv
  5. Probing In-Medium Neutron-to-Dark-Fermion Conversion with Multimessenger Neutron Star Observations
    Davood Rafiei Karkevandi, Mahboubeh Shahrbaf, Hamid Reza Moshfegh +2
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textHigh-energy astrophysicsNuclear physicsarXiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{heikinheimo2026landauzener,
  title = {{Landau-Zener formula and resonant axion conversion in neutron star magnetospheres}},
  author = {Matti Heikinheimo and Topi Sirkiä and Kimmo Tuominen},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.31476},
  eprint = {2606.31476},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.31476},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Landau-Zener formula and resonant axion conversion in neutron star magnetospheres
AU  - Matti Heikinheimo
AU  - Topi Sirkiä
AU  - Kimmo Tuominen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/03
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.31476
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.31476
AB  - We investigate the Landau-Zener description of resonant axion-photon conversion in neutron star magnetospheres. We find that this picture often fails for axion conversions to millimeter-to-optical band photons due to the characteristic resonance width exceeding the size of the conversion region. This comparison of scales yields a simple criterion for evaluating the validity of the Landau-Zener formula. We verify this criterion numerically, and show that when invalid, the Landau-Zener conversion probability may significantly deviate from the numerical result. In light of these findings, we revise constraints on axions from neutron star optical-band polarization searches.
ER  -