How invisible can QCD axions be? From Supernova emission to Cherenkov signals

Abstract

We investigate the scenario of maximally invisible axions, namely QCD axions whose interactions with matter arise exclusively from the irreducible coupling to gluons responsible for solving the strong-CP problem. We first analyze the production of such axions in core-collapse supernovae. In particular, we derive the corresponding SN 1987A cooling constraint and compute the emission spectra for the dominant production channels, namely nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung and pion conversion. We then investigate the prospects for detecting maximally invisible axions in Cherenkov detectors, with the goal of establishing a robust lower bound on the overall detectability of QCD axions.