RadioAxion results on the search for axion dark matter under Gran Sasso

Abstract

We report first results from RadioAxion, an underground experiment searching for axion dark matter through periodic modulations of radioisotope decays. We monitor the $\hat{I}\pm$ decay of ${}^{241}$Am via its $59.5$ keV ${\hat{I}}^3$ line using a NaI detector installed at the Gran Sasso Laboratory, where cosmic-ray-induced systematics are strongly suppressed. We present the measured spectra and the corresponding time-series analysis. No evidence for a periodic modulation is observed. From these data we derive constraints on the axion decay constant in the axion mass range from $10^{-21}$ to $10^{-9}$ eV.

9 pages, 5 figures. Matches published version in Phys. Rev. D