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arXiv:2311.01445v2 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: We investigate how the photon polarization is affected by the interaction with axion-like particles (ALPs) in the rotating magnetic field of a neutron star (NS). Using quantum Boltzmann equations the study demonstrates that the periodic magnetic field of millisecond NSs enhances the interaction of photons with ALPs and creates a circular polarization on them. A binary system including an NS and a companion star could serve as a probe. When the NS is in front of the companion star with respect to the earth observer, there is a circular polarization on the previously linearly polarized photons as a result of the interaction with ALPs there. After a half-binary period, the companion star passes in front of the NS, and the circular polarization of photons disappears and changes to linear. The excluded parameter space for a millisecond NS with 300~Hz rotating frequency, highlights the coupling constant of $1.7\times10^{-11}~\text{GeV}^{-1}\leq g_{a\gamma\gamma}\leq1.6\times10^{-3}~\text{GeV}^{-1}$ for the ALP masses in the range of $7\times10^{-12}~\text{eV}\leq m_a\leq1.5\times 10^{3}~\text{eV}$.
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