Resonant Photon-Axion Mixing Driven by Dark Matter Oscillations

Abstract: Wave propagation in a coherently oscillating background is intrinsically a periodically driven problem. We show that photon propagation through an axion dark matter background in the presence of a magnetic field is governed by Floquet physics, distinct from conventional static or adiabatic mixing paradigms. Coherent photon-axion mode conversion occurs when the mismatch between the photon and axion dispersion relations is compensated by integer harmonics of the axion oscillation frequency, $Δγ- Δ_a \approx n m_a$ ($n \in \mathbb{Z}$) with the axion mass $m_a$, even far from the standard level-crossing condition $Δγ\approx Δ_a$. Crucially, this resonance disappears entirely if the axion oscillations are averaged over, and is therefore systematically missed in conventional static or adiabatic treatments. This driven resonance represents a unitary Floquet mode-mixing process and is fundamentally distinct from parametric instability or stimulated axion decay, preserving the axion dark matter number density. We develop a general Floquet framework for photon propagation in oscillating axion backgrounds, revealing that resonant mixing generates robust polarization effects during propagation. As an astrophysical application, we apply this mechanism to the realistic environment of the blazar 3C 279 to derive concrete constraints on the axion-photon coupling. While the observational manifestation depends on environmental conditions, the underlying driven mixing mechanism is generic to coherent axion dark matter, revealing a previously overlooked regime of photon-axion conversion.