Speaker
Description
The axion is a well-motivated dark matter candidate with a possible mass range spanning many orders of magnitude. Theoretical models have provided strong motivation to search for post-inflationary QCD axions, but this higher mass range is challenging to reach with traditional resonant cavity haloscopes. Among other limitations, scaling the resonant cavity to frequencies in the tens of GHz would greatly reduce signal power and scan rate due to a necessary decrease in cavity volume. To solve this problem, the Axion Longitudinal Plasma HAloscope (ALPHA) experiment will use a metamaterial resonator to reach high search frequencies while maintaining a large volume. In Phase I, ALPHA will search the 10-20 GHz range at KSVZ sensitivities. Construction of this first phase of ALPHA is currently underway at Yale University. This talk will present an update on the experiment construction, subsystem commissioning, and discuss Phase I plans.
| Main Contribution topic | Axion / Sterile |
|---|---|
| Secondary contribution topic | Instrumentation for Dark Matter |