ABBL-iTHEMS Joint Astro Seminar by Wick C. Haxton on September 30, 2025

Prof. Wick Haxton (UCB/LBNL) visited iTHEMS from September 29 to October 3, 2025. On September 30, Prof. Hatton delivered a seminar titled “A Continuous Galactic Line Source of Axions: The Remarkable Case of ²³Na” as part of the iTHEMS seminar series. The talk focused on a novel and intriguing mechanism involving the isotope sodium-23 (²³Na), which, under certain astrophysical conditions, can convert the thermal energy within stars into axions. As these axions travel through the intergalactic magnetic field, some convert into detectable gamma rays. As a result, future all-sky detectors such as COSI may be able to place new constraints on light axion-like particles. His research is highly interdisciplinary, bridging astrophysics, nuclear physics, and elementary particle physics. The seminar was well attended by many members of RIKEN including iTHEMS.

Reported by Shigehiro Nagataki