https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10979-6
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Constraining axion-like particles with the diffuse gamma-ray flux measured by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory
1
Dipartimento di Fisica “E.R. Caianiello”, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy
2
INFN-Gruppo Collegato di Salerno-Sezione di Napoli, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084, Fisciano, SA, Italy
3
The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
4
Dipartimento di Fisica “Ettore Pancini”, Università degli studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario Monte S. Angelo, 80126, Naples, Italy
5
INFN-Sezione di Napoli, Complesso Universitario Monte S. Angelo, 80126, Naples, Italy
6
Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
7
Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Università degli studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Largo San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
8
Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica “Michelangelo Merlin”, Via Amendola 173, 70126, Bari, Italy
9
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-Sezione di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy
10
Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, Università del Salento, Via Arnesano, 73100, Lecce, Italy
11
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-Sezione di Lecce, Via Arnesano, 73100, Lecce, Italy
Received:
18
August
2022
Accepted:
29
October
2022
Published online:
11
November
2022
The detection of very high-energy neutrinos by IceCube experiment supports the existence of a comparable gamma-ray counterpart from the same cosmic accelerators. Under the likely assumption that the sources of these particles are of extragalactic origin, the emitted photon flux would be significantly absorbed during its propagation over cosmic distances. However, in the presence of photon mixing with ultra-light axion-like-particles (ALPs), this expectation would be strongly modified. Notably, photon-ALP conversions in the host galaxy would produce an ALP flux which propagates unimpeded in the extragalactic space. Then, the back-conversion of ALPs in the Galactic magnetic field leads to a diffuse high-energy photon flux. In this context, the recent detection of the diffuse high-energy photon flux by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) allows us to exclude at the 
CL an ALP-photon coupling 
–
for 
, depending on the assumptions on the magnetic fields and on the original gamma-ray spectrum. This new bound is complementary with other ALP constraints from very-high-energy gamma-ray experiments and sensitivities of future experiments.
© The Author(s) 2022
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