Beyond thermal approximations: Precise cosmological bounds on Axion-Like Particles

We derive updated cosmological bounds on light axion-like particles (ALPs) coupled to leptons or photons, using a full phase-space treatment of their production from the primordial thermal plasma. The ALP phase-space distribution, obtained by solving the momentum-dependent Boltzmann equation for the relevant production processes, is consistently propagated into the computation of cosmological observables, allowing us to assess the impact of non-thermal spectral distortions on the effective number of relativistic species, $ΔN_{\rm eff}$. Using state-of-the-art measurements of the cosmic microwave background from Planck, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, and the South Pole Telescope, complemented with Big Bang Nucleosynthesis determinations of primordial deuterium and helium abundances, we obtain the following 95% credible limits on the ALP decay constant: $f_a > 1.63 \times 10^6 , {\rm GeV}$, $9.41 \times 10^6 , {\rm GeV}$ and $8.06 \times 10^4 , {\rm GeV}$ for ALPs coupled to electrons, muons and taus, respectively. For the ALP-photon coupling we find $g_{aγ} < 1.98 \times 10^{-8} , {\rm GeV}^{-1}$. Including baryon acoustic oscillation data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument mildly relaxes the constraints, in line with previous analyses of extra relativistic degrees of freedom. Finally, we present forecasts for the LiteBIRD$+$Simons Observatory and LiteBIRD$+$CMB-HD configurations, discussing the importance of an exact phase-space treatment for robust cosmological bounds on ALP interactions.

💡 Research Summary

This paper presents a comprehensive cosmological analysis of light axion‑like particles (ALPs) that interact with Standard Model leptons or photons. The authors go beyond the common instantaneous‑decoupling or integrated Boltzmann approaches by solving the full momentum‑dependent Boltzmann equation for the ALP phase‑space distribution (PSD). They consider an effective Lagrangian containing derivative couplings to electrons, muons, taus (parameterized by $c_\ell/f_a$) and a tree‑level coupling to photons ($g_{a\gamma}$). Production mechanisms include lepton‑pair annihilation ($\ell^+\ell^-\to a\gamma$), Compton‑like scattering ($\ell\gamma\to\ell a$), and the Primakoff process ($\gamma e\to a e$).

The collision term for each $2\to2$ process is derived analytically, reduced to a four‑dimensional integral, and evaluated numerically with the VEGAS algorithm via the PyCuba library. The Boltzmann equation is then integrated over a wide range of comoving momenta $q=k/T\in