Freistetter’s World of Formulas: How do you prove axions?

However, this assumption did not hold. In 1964, it was discovered that the decay of some particles also violates CP symmetry. In 1976, it was found that the strong nuclear force describing the interaction of quarks must violate CP symmetry for the theory to work as intended. Only one could not notice this injury here. To solve this problem, the Italian Roberto Pecci and the Australian Helen Cowen presented a new hypothesis in 1977. The details may go too far, but as a result of the “fix” they also had to postulate the existence of a new elementary particle: the axion.

Axion flows from the Sun to the Earth

It is a particle that does not itself have an electric charge, but it can interact with electromagnetic fields – especially when those fields are very strong. Then the axis can turn into a photon (and vice versa). If these particles are present, then this could be exactly what is happening inside the Sun – which brings us to the formula above: describes the flux of the axes that are supposed to reach the Earth (depending on the energy H for photons and the coupling constant g between electric and magnetic fields). Large experiments are needed to detect these solar hubs.

An alternative would be to shine a light through the wall. Or, to be more precise: you send a laser beam through a strong magnetic field and direct it at a wall. When a photon turns into an axion, it can fly through a wall and be converted back into a photon and detected there by another magnetic field. The details are of course a bit more complicated. But the research is definitely worth it, because axions could also solve a long-standing dark matter problem. They would be exactly the type of particle needed to explain the lack of mass in the universe. And if you have solved this great mystery by observing a wall in detail, then you have certainly done your job right.