axion

noun

ax·​ion ˈak-sē-(ˌ)än 

: a hypothetical subatomic particle of low mass and energy that is postulated to exist because of certain properties of the strong force

Examples of axion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those applications include satellite technology, masers, microwave photon detection, hunting for axions (a dark matter candidate), and various quantum systems, and driving spin in superconducting qubits for quantum computing, among others. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 27 Dec. 2024

Yet, unfortunately nobody has ever detected an axion. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 25 Dec. 2024

Among the non-WIMP candidates, axions may be the new favorite. —Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Oct. 2024

No WIMPs, no axions—just a slight tweak to some century-old equations. —Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

axi(al) + -on entry 2

Note: The name axion was introduced by the American physicist Stephen Weinberg (born 1933) in "A New Light Boson?", Physical Review Letters, vol. 40, no. 4 (January 23, 1978), p. 233; and by American physicist Frank Wilczek (born 1951) in "Problems of Strong P and T Invariance in the Presence of Instantons," Physical Review Letters, vol. 40, no. 5, p. 279. In an article in the online journal Quanta, "Time's (Almost) Irreversible Arrow" (January 7, 2016), Frank Wilczek explained the coinage as follows: "A few years before [in 1977], a supermarket display of brightly colored boxes of a laundry detergent named Axion had caught my eye. It occurred to me that 'axion' sounded like the name of a particle and really ought to be one. So when I noticed a new particle that 'cleaned up' a problem with an 'axial' current, I saw my chance. (I soon learned that Steven Weinberg had also noticed this particle, independently. He had been calling it the 'Higglet.' He graciously, and I think wisely, agreed to abandon that name.) Thus began a saga whose conclusion remains to be written."

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above