http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.02081
The axions produced during the QCD phase transition by vacuum realignment, string decay and domain wall decay thermalize as a result of their gravitational self-interactions when the photon temperature is approximately 500 eV. They then form a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Because the axion BEC rethermalizes on time scales shorter than the age of the universe, it has properties that distinguish it from other forms of cold dark matter. The observational evidence for caustic rings of dark matter in galactic halos is explained if the dark matter is axions, at least in part, but not if the dark matter is entirely WIMPs or sterile neutrinos.
N. Banik, A. Christopherson, P. Sikivie, et. al.
Tue, 8 Sep 15
3/69
Comments: 6 pages, no figures, contributed to the 11th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, Zaragoza, June 22 to 26, 2015
You must be logged in to post a comment.