Search for a dark-matter induced Cosmic Axion Background with ADMX

Abstract

We report the first result of a direct search for a Cosmic $axion$ Background (C$a$B) - 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 C$a$B will be broad. We introduce a novel analysis strategy, which searches for a C$a$B 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 C$a$B 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 C$a$B or even high-frequency gravitational waves.

9 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (7)

• Resonant detection of axion mediated forces with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
• Search for axionlike dark matter with a liquid-state nuclear spin comagnetometer
• Search for axion-like dark matter using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance
• Multi-Step Cascade Annihilations of Dark Matter and the Galactic Center Excess
• Introducing DMRadio-GUT, a search for GUT-scale QCD axions
• Design and Implementation of the ABRACADABRA-10 cm Axion Dark Matter Search
• Probing dark photons with plasma haloscopes

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Detecting Axion Dark Matter with Black Hole Polarimetry
• Broadband CPW-based impedance-transformed Josephson parametric amplifier
• Cavity as Radio Telescope for Galactic Dark Photon
• Daily modulations and broadband strategy in axion searches. An application with CAST-CAPP detector
• DESI forecast for Dark Matter-Neutrino interactions using EFTofLSS
• Induced Circular Polarization on Photons Due to Interaction with Axion-Like Particles in Rotating Magnetic Field of Neutron Stars
• ADAMOS: Axion Daily Modulation Searches for Dark Matter at 20 GHz
• Testing the Starobinsky model of inflation with resonant cavities