Speaker
Dr
Jonathan Ouellet
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Description
Adding an axion to the SM has the potential to solve two
open mysteries of modern physics: the particle nature of
dark matter and the strong CP problem. Present searches for
axion-like dark matter have typically been resonant-cavity
scans focused on the axion mass range $\gtrsim10^{-6}$ eV.
We are proposing a new cryogenic-based broadband approach,
combining a high-field toroidal magnet and a SQUID read-out
system, that allows us to probe much lighter axion masses
without a resonant cavity. Our setup is called ABRACADABRA.
At MIT, we are building a small proof-of-concept setup with
a $\sim12$\,cm diameter toroidal magnet producing a proposed
magnetic field of $\sim1$\,T. This will be mounted in our
in-house dilution refrigerator and collect data for a few
months with a broadband readout circuit. With this readout,
we will probe previously unexplored parameter regions of
axion-like dark matter. At this point, we will have the
option of switching to a resonant readout circuit to perform
a resonant search. This first setup will be sensitive to
axion masses in the range $10^{-13} \lesssim m_a \lesssim
10^{-8}\,\mathrm{eV}$ down to
$g_{a\gamma\gamma}\sim10^{-13}\,\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ ---
depending on noise sources. In this talk, we discuss the
general setup, the expected systematics and projected
sensitivity.
Primary author
Dr
Jonathan Ouellet
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
