The photo-philic QCD axion

We propose a framework in which the QCD axion has an exponentially large coupling to photons, relying on the “clockwork” mechanism. We discuss the impact of present and future axion experiments on the parameter space of the model. In addition to the axion, the model predicts a large number of pseudoscalars which can be light and observable at the LHC. In the most favorable scenario, axion Dark Matter will give a signal in multiple axion detection experiments and the pseudo-scalars will be discovered at the LHC, allowing us to determine most of the parameters of the model.