Dark matter axion search using a Josephson Traveling wave parametric amplifier.

We describe the first implementation of a Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier (JTWPA) in an axion dark matter search. The operation of the JTWPA for a period of about two weeks achieved sensitivity to axion-like particle dark matter with axion-photon couplings above 10-13 Ge V-1 over a narrow range of axion masses centered around 19.84 µeV by tuning the resonant frequency of the cavity over the frequency range of 4796.7-4799.5 MHz. The JTWPA was operated in the insert of the axion dark matter experiment as part of an independent receiver chain that was attached to a 0.56-l cavity. The ability of the JTWPA to deliver high gain over a wide (3 GHz) bandwidth has engendered interest from those aiming to perform broadband axion searches, a longstanding goal in this field.

Search for a Dark-Matter-Induced Cosmic Axion Background with ADMX.

We report the first result of a direct search for a cosmic axion background (CaB)-a relativistic background of axions that is not dark matter-performed with the axion haloscope, the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX). Conventional haloscope analyses search for a signal with a narrow bandwidth, as predicted for dark matter, whereas the CaB will be broad. We introduce a novel analysis strategy, which searches for a CaB induced daily modulation in the power measured by the haloscope. Using this, we repurpose data collected to search for dark matter to set a limit on the axion photon coupling of a CaB originating from dark matter cascade decay via a mediator in the 800-995 MHz frequency range. We find that the present sensitivity is limited by fluctuations in the cavity readout as the instrument scans across dark matter masses. Nevertheless, we suggest that these challenges can be surmounted using superconducting qubits as single photon counters, and allow ADMX to operate as a telescope searching for axions emerging from the decay of dark matter. The daily modulation analysis technique we introduce can be deployed for various broadband rf signals, such as other forms of a CaB or even high-frequency gravitational waves.

Search for Invisible Axion Dark Matter in the 3.3-4.2 µeV Mass Range.

We report the results from a haloscope search for axion dark matter in the 3.3-4.2 µeV mass range. This search excludes the axion-photon coupling predicted by one of the benchmark models of "invisible" axion dark matter, the Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov model. This sensitivity is achieved using a large-volume cavity, a superconducting magnet, an ultra low noise Josephson parametric amplifier, and sub-Kelvin temperatures. The validity of our detection procedure is ensured by injecting and detecting blind synthetic axion signals.

Axion Dark Matter Experiment: Detailed design and operations.

Axion dark matter experiment ultra-low noise haloscope technology has enabled the successful completion of two science runs (1A and 1B) that looked for dark matter axions in the 2.66-3.1 µeV mass range with Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky sensitivity [Du et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 151301 (2018) and Braine et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 101303 (2020)]. Therefore, it is the most sensitive axion search experiment to date in this mass range. We discuss the technological advances made in the last several years to achieve this sensitivity, which includes the implementation of components, such as the state-of-the-art quantum-noise-limited amplifiers and a dilution refrigerator. Furthermore, we demonstrate the use of a frequency tunable microstrip superconducting quantum interference device amplifier in run 1A, and a Josephson parametric amplifier in run 1B, along with novel analysis tools that characterize the system noise temperature.

Erratum: Axion Dark Matter Detection Using Atomic Transitions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 201301 (2014)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.201301.

ADMX SLIC: Results from a Superconducting LC Circuit Investigating Cold Axions.

Axions are a promising cold dark matter candidate. Haloscopes, which use the conversion of axions to photons in the presence of a magnetic field to detect axions, are the basis of microwave cavity searches such as the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX). To search for lighter, low frequency axions in the sub- 2×10^{-7} eV (50 MHz) range, a tunable lumped-element LC circuit has been proposed. For the first time, through ADMX SLIC (Superconducting LC Circuit Investigating Cold Axions), a resonant LC circuit was used to probe this region of axion mass-coupling space. The detector used a superconducting LC circuit with piezoelectric driven capacitive tuning. The axion mass and corresponding frequency ranges 1.7498-1.7519×10^{-7} eV (42.31-42.36 MHz), 1.7734-1.7738×10^{-7} eV (42.88-42.89 MHz), and 1.8007-1.8015×10^{-7} eV (43.54-43.56 MHz) were covered at magnetic fields of 4.5 T, 5.0 T, and 7.0 T, respectively. Exclusion results from the search data, for coupling below 10^{-12} GeV^{-1}, are presented.

Extended Search for the Invisible Axion with the Axion Dark Matter Experiment.

This Letter reports on a cavity haloscope search for dark matter axions in the Galactic halo in the mass range 2.81-3.31 µeV. This search utilizes the combination of a low-noise Josephson parametric amplifier and a large-cavity haloscope to achieve unprecedented sensitivity across this mass range. This search excludes the full range of axion-photon coupling values predicted in benchmark models of the invisible axion that solve the strong CP problem of quantum chromodynamics.

Search for Invisible Axion Dark Matter with the Axion Dark Matter Experiment.

This Letter reports the results from a haloscope search for dark matter axions with masses between 2.66 and 2.81 µeV. The search excludes the range of axion-photon couplings predicted by plausible models of the invisible axion. This unprecedented sensitivity is achieved by operating a large-volume haloscope at subkelvin temperatures, thereby reducing thermal noise as well as the excess noise from the ultralow-noise superconducting quantum interference device amplifier used for the signal power readout. Ongoing searches will provide nearly definitive tests of the invisible axion model over a wide range of axion masses.

Piezoelectrically Tuned Multimode Cavity Search for Axion Dark Matter.

The µeV 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 (4202-4249, 5086-5799, and 7173-7203 MHz). In addition, Sidecar demonstrates the successful use of a piezoelectric actuator for cavity tuning. Finally, this publication is the first to report data measured using both the TM_{010} and TM_{020} modes.

Cavity design for high-frequency axion dark matter detectors.

In an effort to extend the usefulness of microwave cavity detectors to higher axion masses, above ∼8 µeV (∼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.

Axion dark matter detection using atomic transitions.

Dark matter axions may cause transitions between atomic states that differ in energy by an amount equal to the axion mass. Such energy differences are conveniently tuned using the Zeeman effect. It is proposed to search for dark matter axions by cooling a kilogram-sized sample to millikelvin temperatures and count axion induced transitions using laser techniques. This appears to be an appropriate approach to axion dark matter detection in the 10^{-4} eV mass range.

Proposal for axion dark matter detection using an LC circuit.

We show that dark matter axions cause an oscillating electric current to flow along magnetic field lines. The oscillating current induced in a strong magnetic field B0 produces a small magnetic field Ba. We propose to amplify and detect Ba using a cooled LC circuit and a very sensitive magnetometer. This appears to be a suitable approach to searching for axion dark matter in the 10(-7) to 10(-9) eV mass range.

Axion dark matter and cosmological parameters.

We observe that photon cooling after big bang nucleosynthesis but before recombination can remove the conflict between the observed and theoretically predicted value of the primordial abundance of ^{7}Li. Such cooling is ordinarily difficult to achieve. However, the recent realization that dark matter axions form a Bose-Einstein condensate provides a possible mechanism because the much colder axions may reach thermal contact with the photons. This proposal predicts a high effective number of neutrinos as measured by the cosmic microwave anisotropy spectrum.

Search for chameleon scalar fields with the axion dark matter experiment.

Scalar fields with a "chameleon" property, in which the effective particle mass is a function of its local environment, are common to many theories beyond the standard model and could be responsible for dark energy. If these fields couple weakly to the photon, they could be detectable through the afterglow effect of photon-chameleon-photon transitions. The ADMX experiment was used in the first chameleon search with a microwave cavity to set a new limit on scalar chameleon-photon coupling ßγ excluding values between 2×10(9) and 5×10(14) for effective chameleon masses between 1.9510 and 1.9525 µeV.

SQUID-based microwave cavity search for dark-matter axions.

Axions in the microeV mass range are a plausible cold dark-matter candidate and may be detected by their conversion into microwave photons in a resonant cavity immersed in a static magnetic field. We report the first result from such an axion search using a superconducting first-stage amplifier (SQUID) replacing a conventional GaAs field-effect transistor amplifier. This experiment excludes KSVZ dark-matter axions with masses between 3.3 microeV and 3.53 microeV and sets the stage for a definitive axion search utilizing near quantum-limited SQUID amplifiers.

Search for hidden sector photons with the ADMX detector.

Hidden U(1) gauge symmetries are common to many extensions of the standard model proposed to explain dark matter. The hidden gauge vector bosons of such extensions may mix kinetically with standard model photons, providing a means for electromagnetic power to pass through conducting barriers. The axion dark matter experiment detector was used to search for hidden vector bosons originating in an emitter cavity driven with microwave power. We exclude hidden vector bosons with kinetic couplings χ>3.48×10⁻8 for masses less than 3 µeV. This limit represents an improvement of more than 2 orders of magnitude in sensitivity relative to previous cavity experiments.

Bose-Einstein condensation of dark matter axions.

We show that cold dark matter axions thermalize and form a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). We obtain the axion state in a homogeneous and isotropic universe, and derive the equations governing small axion perturbations. Because they form a BEC, axions differ from ordinary cold dark matter in the nonlinear regime of structure formation and upon entering the horizon. Axion BEC provides a mechanism for the production of net overall rotation in dark matter halos, and for the alignment of cosmic microwave anisotropy multipoles.

Results of a search for cold flows of dark matter axions.

Theoretical arguments predict that the distribution of cold dark matter in spiral galaxies has peaks in velocity space associated with nonthermalized flows of dark matter particles. We searched for the corresponding peaks in the spectrum of microwave photons from axion to photon conversion in a cavity detector for dark matter axions. We found none and place limits on the density of any local flow of axions as a function of the flow velocity dispersion over the axion mass range 1.98 to 2.17 microeV.

Dark matter caustics.

The late infall of cold dark matter onto an isolated galaxy such as our own produces flows with definite velocity vectors at any physical point in the galactic halo. It also produces caustics which are places where the dark matter density is very large. The outer caustics are topological spheres whereas the inner caustics are rings. The self-similar model of galactic halo formation predicts that the caustic ring radii a(n) follow the approximate law a(n) approximately 1/n. In a recent study of 32 extended and well-measured galactic rotation curves, we found evidence for this law.