JC March - Francesca Lecce

Thursday 6 Mar 2025, 15:30 → 16:30 Europe/Rome

Monthly WISPers Journal Club. 

Abstract: Binary neutron star (BNS) mergers could be a natural source of axion-like particles (ALPs), which may convert into gamma-ray photons in the Milky Way magnetic field. This process would produce a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) in coincidence with the gravitational wave (GW) signal from the merger event.
We investigate the sensitivities of current and proposed gamma-ray telescopes to the expected ALP-induced signal, which could be improved by the simultaneous detection of gravitational waves from the inspiral. These instruments could achieve sensitivities down to g_ag <=10^(−12) GeV^(−1) for ALP masses below 0.1 neV, making this approach competitive with the strongest astrophysical constraints in this mass range. Moreover, we explore the possibility of a joint detection of the two signals. Our study shows that BNS mergers offer a promising multimessenger avenue to search for ALPs—bringing together gravitational waves and high-energy astrophysics.