Speaker
Description
Axion dark matter may undergo efficient conversion to photons deep in the magnetospheres of neutron stars, generating narrow spectral features observable with radio telescopes. In this talk I will discuss the current state-of-the-art in the forward modeling of these systems, which rely on the use of geometric ray tracing algorithms to compute the anisotropy, spectral properties, and magnitude of the radio signal. By combining these algorithms with our knowledge of the evolution and distribution of neutron stars in our galaxy, we have developed a novel and powerful technique to indirectly detect axion dark matter. Results from the latest search using observations of the Galactic Center taken by the Green Bank Telescope will be presented in the following talk (given by Josh Foster).
