Probing the Axion--Photon--Dark Photon Interaction with LHC Mono-Photons and Fermi-LAT Gamma-Ray Lines

Abstract

We investigate the axion--photon--dark photon interaction at the LHC and in gamma-ray line searches. By recasting the CMS mono-photon data, we derive a $95\%$ CL exclusion reaching $g_{aγ'γ}\simeq4.8\times10^{-4}\ {\rm GeV}^{-1}$ for dark photon masses $m_{γ'}\lesssim100$ GeV, with sensitivity extending to $m_{γ'}\simeq2.3$ TeV, where the effective theory approaches its validity limit. This improves upon the existing LEP mono-photon constraint by a factor of $3$ or more, depending on the dark photon mass. The projected HL-LHC sensitivity improves by a further factor of $\sim2.7$ and extends the reach to $m_{γ'}\simeq3$ TeV. The same interaction also induces $s$-wave annihilation of axions into $γγ$. If the axion constitutes dark matter, Fermi-LAT gamma-ray line data become more constraining than the LHC for $m_a\gtrsim160$ GeV at $m_{γ'}=300$ GeV, where the on-shell collider signal is kinematically suppressed. Combining collider and gamma-ray line constraints excludes a thermal relic axion across the axion mass range considered for this benchmark.