 Haloscope concept of a resonance cavity |
Haloscopes[1] are experimental devices designed to detect axions, hypothetical particles that are candidates for dark matter.[2][3] These instruments typically use a resonant microwave cavity placed in a strong magnetic field to convert axions into detectable photons via the Primakoff effect.
Haloscopes[4] probe for axions in a specific mass range and operate by tuning the cavity to resonate at frequencies corresponding to those masses. They have provided the lowest limits to the axion-photon coupling constant in their mass region. They are a part of the current experimental effort in search for axions.[5]
The most well-known haloscope experiment to date is ADMX (Axion Dark Matter eXperiment).[6] Other axion experiments, like IAXO (International AXion Observatory),[7] may incorporate haloscope techniques in its broader axion detection strategy. One of these techniques is RADES (Relic Axion Dark matter Exploratory Setup) which was operated in CAST.
Haloscope techniques, have also been proposed for the detection of high-frequency gravitational waves. In these concepts, a resonant cavity placed in a strong magnetic field can convert gravitational wave energy into electromagnetic signals through axion-like couplings or other beyond-standard-model interactions. Such approaches aim to explore gravitational wave frequencies in the MHz to GHz range, which are not accessible to conventional interferometers like LIGO or Virgo.[8]
References
edit- ^ Sikivie, P. (1983-10-17). "Experimental Tests of the "Invisible" Axion". Physical Review Letters. 51 (16): 1415–1417. Bibcode:1983PhRvL..51.1415S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.51.1415.
- ^ "Searching for dark matter with a haloscope". phys.org. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ Brubaker, Ben (14 March 2021). "How Does an Axion Detector Work? | Measuring in Reflection". benbrubaker.com. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ^ "Astroparticle Physics Lab - Haloscope". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "Wave-like DM experiments | iDMEu". Retrieved 2025-07-01.
- ^ Cervantes, R.; Carosi, G.; Kimes, S.; Hanretty, C.; LaRoque, B. H.; Leum, G.; Mohapatra, P.; Oblath, N. S.; Ottens, R.; Park, Y.; Rybka, G.; Sinnis, J.; Yang, J. (2022-11-09). "ADMX-Orpheus first search for $70\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{eV}$ dark photon dark matter: Detailed design, operations, and analysis". Physical Review D. 106 (10) 102002. arXiv:2204.09475. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.106.102002.
- ^ Lakić, Biljana (2020-01-01). "International Axion Observatory (IAXO) status and prospects". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 1342 (1) 012070. Bibcode:2020JPhCS1342a2070L. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1342/1/012070. ISSN 1742-6588.
- ^ Domcke, Valerie; Garcia-Cely, Camilo; Rodd, Nicholas L. (2022-07-20). "Novel Search for High-Frequency Gravitational Waves with Low-Mass Axion Haloscopes". Physical Review Letters. 129 (4) 041101. arXiv:2202.00695. Bibcode:2022PhRvL.129d1101D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.041101. PMID 35939000.
Bibliography
edit- Crescini, Nicolò (14 March 2022). "Building instructions for a ferromagnetic axion haloscope". The European Physical Journal Plus. 137 (3). arXiv:2201.04081. doi:10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02533-w. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
