A coupled microwave-cavity system of cylindrical TM$_{010}$ single-mode has been developed to search for dark matter axions around 10 $μ{\rm eV}$(2.4 GHz) with the Rydberg-atom cavity detector at 10 mK range temperature. One component of the coupled cavity (conversion cavity) made of oxygen-free high-conductivity copper is used to convert an axion into a single photon with the Primakoff process in the strong magnetic field, while the other component (detection cavity) made of Nb is utilized to detect the converted photons with Rydberg atoms passed through it without magnetic field.
Top of the detection cavity is attached to the bottom flange of the mixing chamber of a dilution refrigerator, thus the whole cavity is cooled down to 10 mK range to reduce the background thermal blackbody-photons in the cavity.
The cavity resonant frequency is tunable over $\sim$ 15% by moving dielectric rods inserted independently into each part of the cavities along the cylindrical axis. In order to reduce the heat load from the higher temperature side to the most cooled dilution refrigerator part, the tuning rod at the conversion cavity is especially driven via the Kevlar strings with a stepping motor outside the cryostat at room temperature.
The lowest temperature achieved up to now is 12 $\sim$ 15 mK for the long period operation and the loaded Q value at low temperature is 3.5 $\sim$ 4.5 $\times$ $10^4$ for the whole range of frequency tuning. Characteristics and the performance of the coupled-cavity system are presented and discussed with possible future improvements.
In an effort to extend the usefulness of microwave cavity detectors to higher axion masses, above ~8 $μ$eV (~2 GHz), a numerical trade study of cavities was conducted to investigate the merit of using variable periodic post arrays and regulating vane designs for higher-frequency searches. The results show that both designs could be used to develop resonant cavities for high-mass axion searches. Multiple configurations of both methods obtained the scanning sensitivity equivalent to approximately 4 coherently coupled cavities with a single tuning rod.
To account for the dark matter content in our Universe, post-inflationary scenarios predict for the QCD axion a mass in the range $(10-10^3)\,μ\mbox{eV}$. Searches with haloscope experiments in this mass range require the monitoring of resonant cavity modes with frequency above 5\,GHz, where several experimental limitations occur due to linear amplifiers, small volumes, and low quality factors of Cu resonant cavities. In this paper we deal with the last issue, presenting the result of a search for galactic axions using a haloscope based on a $36\,\mbox{cm}^3$ NbTi superconducting cavity. The c…
Many searches for axion cold dark matter rely on the use of tunable electromagnetic resonators. Current detectors operate at or near microwave frequencies and use cylindrical cavities with cylindrical tuning rods. The cavity performance strongly impacts the signal power of the detector, which is expected to be very small even under optimal conditions. There is strong motivation to characterize these microwave cavities and improve their performance in order to maximize the achievable signal power. We present the results of a study characterizing the HAYSTAC (Haloscope At Yale Sensitive to Axion…
With the axion being a prime candidate for dark matter, there has been some recent interest in direct detection through a so called `Ferromagnetic haloscope.' Such devices exploit the coupling between axions and electrons in the form of collective spin excitations of magnetic materials with the readout through a microwave cavity. Here, we present a new, general, theoretical treatment of such experiments in a Hamiltonian formulation for strongly coupled magnons and photons, which hybridise as cavity-magnon polaritons. Such strongly coupled systems have an extended measurable dispersive regime. …
We describe the design, construction, and characterization of a medium-finesse Fabry-Pérot cavity for simultaneous frequency stabilization of two lasers operating at 960 and 780 nm wavelengths, respectively. The lasers are applied in experiments with ultracold rubidium Rydberg atoms, for which a combined laser linewidth similar to the natural Rydberg linewidth (approximately 10 kHz) is desired. The cavity, with a finesse of approximately 1500, is used to reduce the linewidth of the lasers to below this level. By using a spacer made of ultra low expansion (ULE) glass with active temperature sta…
Form factor can be engineered in photonic cavities such that it dramatically increases the scan speed of axion haloscope detectors. Using higher-order modes of a photonic cavity, we can probe axions at larger mass ranges beyond the reach of current detectors that rely on conventional copper cavities. The main idea is to produce a higher-order mode with longitudinal field distribution that has relatively high amplitude away from both the cavity axis and the cavity walls such that it results in a relatively large form factor and maintains a high-quality factor. The detector scan speed significan…
The invisible axion is a well-motivated hypothetical particle which could address two fundamental questions in modern physics - the CP symmetry problem in the strong interactions and the dark matter mystery of our universe. The plausible mass (frequency) range of the QCD axion as a dark matter candidate spans from ueV to meV (O(GHz) to O(THz)). The axion haloscope using a resonant cavity has provided the most sensitive search method in the microwave region. However, experimental searches have been limited to relatively low mass regions mainly due to the reduced cavity volume at high masses. As…
Conventional axion dark matter search experiments employ cylindrical microwave cavities immersed in a solenoidal magnetic field. Exploring higher frequency regions requires smaller size cavities as the TM010 resonant frequencies scale inversely with cavity radius. One intuitive way to make efficient use of a given magnet volume, and thereby to increase the experimental sensitivity, is to bundle multiple cavities together and combine their individual outputs ensuring phase-matching of the coherent axion signal. We perform an extensive study for realistic design of a phase-matching mechanism for…
For the microwave equivalent of "light shining through the wall" (LSW) experiments, a sensitive microwave detector and very high electromagnetic shielding is required. The screening attenuation between the axion generating cavity and the nearby detection cavity should be greater than 300 dB, in order to improve over presently existing exclusion limits. To achieve these goals in practice, a "box in a box" concept was utilized for shielding the detection cavity, while a vector signal analyzer was used as a microwave receiver with a very narrow resolution bandwidth in the order of a few micro-Hz.…
In cavity-based axion dark matter search experiments exploring high mass regions, multiple-cavity design is considered to increase the detection volume within a given magnet bore. We introduce a new idea, referred to as multiple-cell cavity, which provides various benefits including a larger detection volume, simpler experimental setup, and easier phase-matching mechanism. We present the characteristics of this concept and demonstrate the experimental feasibility with an example of a double-cell cavity.
We suggest a novel experimental method to search for axion dark matter with an optical ring cavity. Our cavity measures the difference of the resonant frequencies between two circular-polarizations of the laser beam. Its technical design adopts double-pass configuration to realize a null experiment and reject environmental common-mode noises. We reveal that it can probe the axion-photon coupling constant with a broad range of axion mass $10^{-17} \text{eV} \lesssim m \lesssim 10^{-10} \text{eV}$, up to several orders of magnitude beyond the current limits. We expect that this cavity experiment…
The microwave cavity experiment is the most sensitive way of looking for axions in the 0.1-10 GHz range, corresponding to masses of 0.5 - 40 $μ$eV. The particular challenge for frequencies greater than 5 GHz is designing a cavity with a large volume that contains a resonant mode that has a high form factor, a high quality factor, a wide dynamic range, and is free from intruder modes. For HAYSTAC, we have designed and constructed an optimized high frequency cavity with a tuning mechanism that preserves a high degree of rotational symmetry, critical to maximizing its figure of merit. This cavity…
A haloscope of the QUAX--$aγ$ experiment, composed of an high-Q resonant cavity immersed in a 8 T magnet and cooled to $\sim 4.5$~K is operated to search for galactic axion with mass $m_a\simeq42.8~μ\text{eV}$. The design of the cavity with hollow dielectric cylinders concentrically inserted in a OFHC Cu cavity, allowed us to maintain a loaded quality-factor Q $\sim 300000$ during the measurements in presence of magnetic field. Through the cavity tuning mechanism it was possible to modulate the resonance frequency of the haloscope in the region $10.35337-10.35345$~GHz and thus acquire differen…
We show that at higher frequencies, and thus higher axion masses, single-photon detectors become competitive and ultimately favored, when compared to quantum-limited linear amplifiers, as the detector technology in microwave cavity experimental searches for galactic halo dark matter axions. The cross-over point in this comparison is of order 10 GHz ($\sim 40\ μ$eV), not far above the frequencies of current searches.
We have proposed a new approach to search for axion dark matter with an optical ring cavity [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 161301 (2018)]. The coupling of photons to axions or axion-like particles makes a modulated difference in the phase velocity between left- and right-handed photons. Our method is to measure this phase velocity difference with a ring cavity, by measuring the resonant frequency difference between two circular polarizations. Our estimation shows that the sensitivity to axion-photon coupling constant $g_{a γ}$ for axion mass $m \lesssim 10^{-10}$ eV can be improved by several orders o…
The axion is a light pseudoscalar particle which suppresses CP-violating effects in strong interactions and also happens to be an excellent dark matter candidate. Axions constituting the dark matter halo of our galaxy may be detected by their resonant conversion to photons in a microwave cavity permeated by a magnetic field. The current generation of the microwave cavity experiment has demonstrated sensitivity to plausible axion models, and upgrades in progress should achieve the sensitivity required for a definitive search, at least for low mass axions. However, a comprehensive strategy for s…
We describe a dark matter axion detector designed, constructed, and operated both as an innovation platform for new cavity and amplifier technologies and as a data pathfinder in the $5 - 25$ GHz range ($\sim20-100\: μ$eV). The platform is small but flexible to facilitate the development of new microwave cavity and amplifier concepts in an operational environment. The experiment has recently completed its first data production; it is the first microwave cavity axion search to deploy a Josephson parametric amplifier and a dilution refrigerator to achieve near-quantum limited performance.
Axions are a well motivated candidate for dark matter. The most sensitive experiments searching for dark matter axions rely on the coupling of axions to the electromagnetic resonances of a microwave cavity immersed in a strong magnetic field. The sensitivity of the experiment is proportional to the Q of the resonance that is coupled to axions. To date, the resonators used in axion searches have all been passive, with Qs limited by power loss in the cavity walls. I propose the use of active feedback resonators to increase the Q of microwave cavity axion dark matter experiments by several orders…
A new class of axion haloscope resonators: the polygonal coaxial cavity
INFN, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro（意大利国家核物理研究所，莱尼亚罗国家实验室）；Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Padova（帕多瓦大学物理与天文学系）；INFN, Sezione di Padova（意大利国家核物理研究所，帕多瓦分部）
Dark matter Axion search with riNg Cavity Experiment (DANCE) was proposed. To search for axion-like particles, we aim to detect the rotation and oscillation of optical linear polarization caused by axion-photon coupling with a bow-tie cavity. DANCE can improve the sensitivity to axion-photon coupling constant $g_{a γ}$ for axion mass $m_a < 10^{-10} \, \rm{eV}$ by several orders of magnitude compared to the best upper limits at present. A prototype experiment DANCE Act-1 is in progress to demonstrate the feasibility of the method and to investigate technical noises. We assembled the optics, ev…
Using microwave cavities one can build a resonant ``light-shining-through-walls'' experiment to search for hidden sector photons and axion like particles, predicted in many extensions of the standard model. In this note we make a feasibility study of the sensitivities which can be reached using state of the art technology.
Searches for dark matter axion involve the use of microwave resonant cavities operating in a strong magnetic field. Detector sensitivity is directly related to the cavity quality factor, which is limited, however, by the presence of the external magnetic field. In this paper we present a cavity of novel design whose quality factor is not affected by a magnetic field. It is based on a photonic structure by the use of sapphire rods. The quality factor at cryogenic temperature is in excess of $5 \times 10^5$ for a selected mode.
A high-quality factor microwave resonator in the presence of a strong magnetic field could have a wide range of applications, such as axion dark matter searches where the two aspects must coexist to enhance the experimental sensitivity. We introduce a polygon-shaped cavity design with bi-axially textured YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-x}$ superconducting tapes covering the entire inner wall. Using a 12-sided polygon cavity, we obtain substantially improved quality factors of the TM$_{010}$ mode at 6.9 GHz at 4 K with respect to a copper cavity and observe no considerable degradation in the presence of…
Universidad de Zaragoza（萨拉戈萨大学）；Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut)（马克斯·普朗克物理研究所（维尔纳·海森堡研究所））；CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research（欧洲核子研究组织）
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are undiscovered pseudo-scalar particles that are candidates for ultralight dark matter. ALPs interact with photons slightly and cause the rotational oscillation of linearly polarized light. Dark matter Axion search with riNg Cavity Experiment (DANCE) searches for ALP dark matter by amplifying the rotational oscillation with a bow-tie ring cavity. Simultaneous resonance of linear polarizations is necessary to amplify both the carrier field and the ALP signal, and to achieve the design sensitivity. The sensitivity of the current prototype experiment DANCE Act-1 is le…
A Prototype Hybrid Mode Cavity for Heterodyne Axion Detection
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory（SLAC国家加速器实验室）；Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校理论物理中心）；Theoretical Physics Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室理论物理组）；Theoretical Physics Division, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室理论物理部）；Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室超导量子材料与系统中心（SQMS））；CERN（欧洲核子研究组织）；Departement de Physique Theorique, Universite de Geneve（日内瓦大学理论物理系）；Arizona State University（亚利桑那州立大学）
UPconversion Loop Oscillator Axion Detection experiment: A precision frequency interferometric axion dark matter search with a Cylindrical Microwave Cavity
Dark matter Axion search with riNg Cavity Experiment (DANCE) was proposed to search for axion dark matter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 161301 (2018)]. We aim to detect the rotation and oscillation of optical linear polarization caused by axion-photon coupling with a bow-tie cavity. DANCE can improve the sensitivity to axion-photon coupling constant $g_{a γ}$ for axion mass $m_a < 10^{-10}~\rm{eV}$ by several orders of magnitude compared to the best upper limits at present. A prototype experiment DANCE Act-1 is ongoing to demonstrate the feasibility of the method and to investigate technical noises. …
We demonstrate a superconducting (SC) microwave (mw) cavity that can accelerate the dark matter search by maintaining superconductivity in a high DC magnetic field. We used high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) with a phase transition temperature of 90K to prevent SC failure by the magnetic field. Since the direct deposition of HTSC film on the metallic mw cavity is very difficult, we used the commercial HTSC tapes which are flexible metallic tapes coated with HTSC thin films. We fabricated resonating cavity ($f_{TM010}$ ~ 6.89 GHz) with a third of the inner…
The Relic Axion Detector Experimental Setup (RADES) is an axion search project that uses a microwave filter as resonator for Dark Matter conversion. The main focus of this publication is the description of the 3 different cavity prototypes of RADES. The result of the first tests of one of the prototypes is also presented. The filters consist of 5 or 6 stainless steel sub-cavities joined by rectangular irises. The size of the sub-cavities determines the working frequency, the amount of sub-cavities determine the working volume. The first cavity prototype was built in 2017 to work at a frequency…
We report on the results from a search for dark matter axions with the HAYSTAC experiment using a microwave cavity detector at frequencies between 5.6-5.8$\, \rm Ghz$. We exclude axion models with two photon coupling $g_{aγγ}\,\gtrsim\,2\times10^{-14}\,\rm GeV^{-1}$, a factor of 2.7 above the benchmark KSVZ model over the mass range 23.15$\,<\,$$m_a \,$<$\,$24.0$\,μ\rm eV$. This doubles the range reported in our previous paper. We achieve a near-quantum-limited sensitivity by operating at a temperature $T<hν/2k_B$ and incorporating a Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA), with improvements in t…
We propose a novel experiment to search for axion dark matter which differentiates the phase velocities of the left and right-handed polarized photons. Our optical cavity measures the difference of the resonant frequencies between two circular-polarizations of the laser beam. The design of our cavity adopts double-pass configuration to realize a null experiment and give a high common mode rejection of environmental disturbances. We estimate the potential sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling constant $g_{aγ}$ for the axion mass $m \lesssim 10^{-10}$ eV. In a low mass range $m \lesssim 10^{-…
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are pseudo-scalar particles that are candidates for ultralight dark matter. ALPs interact with photons slightly and cause the rotational oscillation of linear polarization. DANCE searches for ALP dark matter by enhancing the rotational oscillation in a bow-tie ring cavity. The signal to noise ratio of DANCE can be improved by long-term observation, and we are planning a year-long observation for the final DANCE. In this document, I will report on the control systems of the ring cavity we developed for the future long-term observation.
We study the directional effect of the expected axion dark matter signal in a resonant cavity of an axion haloscope detector, for cavity geometries not satisfying the condition that the axion de Broglie wavelength $λ_a$ is sufficiently larger than the cavity dimensions $L$ for a fully coherent conversion, i.e. $λ_a \gtrsim 2πL$. We focus on long thin cavities immersed in dipole magnets and find, for appropriately chosen cavity lengths, an O(1) modulation of the signal with the cavity orientation with respect the momentum distribution of the relic axion background predicted by the isothermal sp…
The axion is a hypothetical particle considered to be the most economical solution to the strong CP problem. It can also be formulated as a compelling component of dark matter. The haloscope, a leading axion detection scheme, relies on the conversion of galactic halo axions into real photons inside a resonant cavity structure in the presence of a static magnetic field, where the generated photon frequency corresponds to the mass of the axion. For maximum sensitivity it is key that the central frequency of the cavity mode structure coincides with the frequency of the generated photon. As the ma…
Axion is a promising candidate for ultralight dark matter which may cause a polarization rotation of laser light. Recently, a new idea of probing the axion dark matter by optical linear cavities used in the arms of gravitational wave detectors has been proposed [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 111301 (2019)]. In this article, a realistic scheme of the axion dark matter search with the arm cavity transmission ports is revisited. Since photons detected by the transmission ports travel in the cavity for odd-number of times, the effect of axion dark matter on their phases is not cancelled out and the sensit…
Using eigenmode analysis and full 3D FEM modelling, we demonstrate that a closed cavity built of an array of elementary harmonic oscillators with negative mutual couplings exhibits a dispersion curve with lower order modes corresponding to higher frequencies. Such cavity arrays may help to achieve large mode volumes for boosting sensitivity of the axion searches, where the mode volume for the composed array scales proportional to the number of elements, but the frequency remains constant. The negatively coupled cavity array is demonstrated with magnetically coupling coils, where the sign of ne…
The cavity haloscope has been employed to detect microwave photons resonantly converted from invisible cosmic axions under a strong magnetic field. In this scheme, the axion-photon conversion power has been formulated to be valid for certain conditions, either $Q_{cavity}\ll Q_{\rm axion}$ or $Q_{cavity} \gg Q_{axion}$. This remedy, however, fails when these two quantities are comparable to each other. Furthermore, the noise power flow has been treated independently of the impedance mismatch of the system, which could give rise to misleading estimates of the experimental sensitivity. We revisi…
In the search for axion dark matter, the cavity-based haloscope offers the most sensitive approach to the theoretically interesting models in the microwave region. However, experimental searches have been limited to relatively low masses up to a few tens of $μ$eV, benefiting from large detection volumes and high quality factors for a given experimental setup. We propose a new cavity design suitable for axion searches in higher mass regions with enhanced performance. The design features a periodic arrangement of dielectric material in a conventional conducting cavity where the resonant frequenc…
Extended High-Mass Axion Search with an Auxetically Tuned Higher-Order-Mode Cavity
Institute for Basic Science（基础科学研究院）；RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing（理化学研究所量子计算中心）；Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University（斯德哥尔摩大学奥斯卡·克莱因物理中心）；Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz（美因茨约翰内斯古腾堡大学）；Helmholtz Institute Mainz（美因茨亥姆霍兹研究所）；Department of Physics, Seoul National University（首尔大学物理系）；Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo（东京大学大学院工学系研究科应用物理专业）
Max–Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦研究所））；Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）；Department of Physics, University of Florida（佛罗里达大学物理系）
The present state of the art axion haloscope employs a cylindrical resonant cavity in a solenoidal field. We, the Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research (CAPP) of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in Korea, are also pursuing halo axion discovery using this cylindrical geometry. However, the presence of end caps of cavities increases challenges as we explore higher frequency regions for the axion at above 2 GHz. To overcome these challenges we exploit a toroidal design of cavity and magnetic field. A toroidal geometry offers several advantages, two of which are a larger volume for …
The $μ$eV axion is a well-motivated extension to the standard model. The Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) collaboration seeks to discover this particle by looking for the resonant conversion of dark-matter axions to microwave photons in a strong magnetic field. In this Letter, we report results from a pathfinder experiment, the ADMX "Sidecar," which is designed to pave the way for future, higher mass, searches. This testbed experiment lives inside of and operates in tandem with the main ADMX experiment. The Sidecar experiment excludes masses in three widely spaced frequency ranges (4202-424…
We investigate a new class of galactic halo axion detection techniques based on precision frequency and phase metrology. Employing equations of axion electrodynamics, it is demonstrated how a dual mode cavity exhibits linear mode-mode coupling mediated by the axion upconversion and axion downconversion processes. The approach demonstrates phase sensitivity with an ability to detect axion phase with respect to externally pumped signals. Axion signal to phase spectral density conversion is calculated for open and closed loop detection schemes. The fundamental limits of the proposed approach come…
In an earlier paper, a new class of thin-shell cavities were proposed to evade the steep frequency scaling of conventional axion haloscopes. In this follow-up work, we see that a generalized conic geometry enables robust frequency-tuning for these large-volume cm-wave cavities. The frequency-defining dimension of a conic shell-cavity changes symmetrically and uniformly during tuning, maintaining a high axion coupling efficiency (the form factor) to an external solenoid field. It is further shown that such tunable geometry is not restricted to circular cones. A general prescription for arbitrar…
A haloscope of the QUAX--$aγ$ experiment composed of an oxygen-free high thermal conductivity-Cu cavity inside an 8.1 T magnet and cooled to $\sim200$ mK is put in operation for the search of galactic axion with mass $m_a\simeq43~μ\text{eV}$. The power emitted by the resonant cavity is amplified with a Josephson parametric amplifier whose noise fluctuations are at the standard quantum limit. With the data collected in about 1 h at the cavity frequency $ν_c=10.40176$ GHz, the experiment reaches the sensitivity necessary for the detection of galactic QCD-axion, setting the $90\%$ confidence leve…
