Search for Invisible Axion Dark Matter with a Multiple-Cell Haloscope

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Dark matter constitutes a significant portion of the universe's mass.
• Axions are a leading candidate for non-baryonic dark matter.
• Cavity haloscopes are a primary experimental technique for detecting axions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the initial findings from a search for invisible axion dark matter.
• To evaluate the efficacy of a novel multiple-cell cavity haloscope design for high-mass axion detection.
• To explore axion-photon coupling in a specific mass range.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multiple-cell cavity haloscope, a novel design offering a larger detection volume and unique phase-matching.
• Conducted a search for axion-induced photon conversions within the cavity.
• Analyzed data to set limits on axion-photon coupling.

Main Results:

• Achieved the first experimental results using the multiple-cell cavity haloscope concept.
• Established new upper limits on the axion-photon coupling constant for axion masses between 13.0 and 13.9 micro-electronvolts (μeV).
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of the multiple-cell cavity design for high-mass axion searches.

Conclusions:

• The multiple-cell cavity haloscope is a promising technique for detecting high-mass invisible axion dark matter.
• The experimental results surpass previous limits in the studied mass range.
• This cavity concept shows potential for significant contributions to future dark matter experiments.