Astrophysical axion bounds

Abstract

Axion emission by hot and dense plasmas is a new energy-loss channel for stars. Observable consequences include a modification of the solar sound-speed profile, an increase of the solar neutrino flux, a reduction of the helium-burning lifetime of globular-cluster stars, accelerated white-dwarf cooling, and a reduction of the supernova SN 1987A neutrino burst duration. I review and update these arguments and summarize the resulting axion constraints. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.