Enhancing Constraints on Ultralight Axion Dark Matter from Gravitational Capture

Ultralight axions can be gravitationally captured by massive bodies such as the Sun, producing solar-bound gravitational atom states that amplify the local dark matter density through Bose-enhanced capture. For axion masses in the range $10^{-14}\text{eV}\lesssim m_a \lesssim 10^{-13}\text{eV}$, this mechanism becomes exponentially efficient. We show that, for a representative decay constant $f_a\sim 3.5\times10^7$ GeV, the local axion dark matter density at Earth can grow to more than ten times the standard Galactic value of $ρ_0 = 0.4 \text{ GeV/cm}^{3}$. Incorporating this overdensity, we derive updated limits on the axion-photon coupling from existing satellite and terrestrial measurements and present improved projections for upcoming experiments.

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Authors

Pierce Giffin; Pankaj Munbodh; Elisa G. M. Ferreira

Published

Sep 30, 2026

Paper type

preprint

Source

Arxiv