We study the impact of axion emission in simulations of massive star explosions , as an additional source of energy loss complementary to the standard neutrino emission .
The inclusion of this channel shortens the cooling time of the nascent protoneutron star and hence the duration of the neutrino signal .
We treat the axion-matter coupling strength as a free parameter to study its impact on the protoneutron star evolution as well as on the neutrino signal .
We furthermore analyze the observability of the enhanced cooling in current and next-generation underground neutrino detectors , showing that values of the axion mass m _ { a } \gtrsim 8 \times 10 ^ { -3 } eV can be probed .
Therefore a galactic supernova neutrino observation would provide a valuable possibility to probe axion masses in a range within reach of the planned helioscope experiment , the International Axion Observatory ( IAXO ) .