Neutron star–axion star collisions in the light of multimessenger astronomy

Abstract

Axions are increasingly favoured as a candidate particle for the dark matter in galaxies, since they satisfy the observational requirements for cold dark matter and are theoretically well motivated. Fluctuations in the axion field give rise to stable localized overdensities known as axion stars, which, for the most massive, compact cases, are potential neutron star mimickers. In principle, there are no fundamental arguments against the multimessenger observations of GW170817/GRB170817A/AT2017gfo arising from the merger of a neutron star with a neutron star mimicker, rather than from a binary neutron star. To constrain this possibility and better understand the astrophysical signatures of a neutron star–axion star (NSAS) merger, we present in this work a detailed example case of an NSAS merger based on full 3D numerical relativity simulations, and give an overview of the many potential observables – ranging from gravitational waves to optical and near-infrared electromagnetic signals, radio flares, fast radio bursts, gamma ray bursts, and neutrino emission. We discuss the individual channels and estimate to what distances the current and future observatories might be able to detect such an NSAS merger. Such signals could constrain the unknown axion mass and its couplings to standard baryonic matter, thus enhancing our understanding of the dark matter sector of the Universe.

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