Preliminary evidence of solar axions in XMM- Newton observations has quite recently been claimed by Fraser et al .
as an interpretation of their detection of a seasonally-modulated excess of the X-ray background .
Within such an interpretation , these authors also estimate the axion mass to be m _ { a } \simeq 2.3 \cdot 10 ^ { -6 } { eV } .
Since an axion with this mass behaves as a cold dark matter particle , according to the proposed interpretation the considered detection directly concerns cold dark matter as well .
So , the suggested interpretation would lead to a revolutionary discovery if confirmed .
Unfortunately , we have identified three distinct problems in this interpretation of the observed result of Fraser et al .
which ultimately imply that the detected signal – while extremely interesting in itself – can not have any relation with hypothetical axions produced by the Sun .
Thus , a physically consistent interpretation of the observed seasonally-modulated X-ray excess still remains an exciting challenge .