First Constraints on Light Axions from the Binary Neutron Star Gravitational Wave Event GW170817

Light axion fields, if they exist, can be sourced by neutron stars due to their coupling to nuclear matter, and play a role in binary neutron star mergers. We report on a search for such axions by analyzing the gravitational waves from the binary neutron star inspiral GW170817. We find no evidence of axions in the sampled parameter space. The null result allows us to impose constraints on axions with masses below <math display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn>11</mn></mrow></msup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>eV</mi></mrow></math> by excluding the ones with decay constants ranging from <math display="inline"><mrow><mn>1.6</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>16</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math> to <math display="inline"><mrow><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>18</mn></mrow></msup><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math> at a <math display="inline"><mn>3</mn><mi>σ</mi></math> confidence level. Our analysis provides the first constraints on axions from neutron star inspirals, and rules out a large region in parameter space that has not been probed by the existing experiments.