Status report of the CERN light shining through the wall experiment with microwave axions and related aspects

TL;DR

This paper reports on the engineering development and current status of a microwave light shining through the wall experiment at CERN, aiming to detect axion-like particles with high electromagnetic shielding and sensitive detection methods.

Contribution

It details the design, shielding requirements, and detection techniques for a novel experiment to search for axion-like particles using microwave cavities at CERN.

Findings

Electromagnetic shielding of 300 dB is critical for experiment sensitivity.

A narrow band homodyne detection method is employed to detect axion signals.

The current status of the experimental setup is presented.

Abstract

One way to proof or exclude the existence of axion like particles is a microwave light shining through the wall experiment. In this publication we will emphasize on the engineering aspects of such a setup, currently under development at CERN. One critical point, to achieve meaningful results, is the electromagnetic shielding between axion-emitter and -receiver cavity, which needs to be in the order of 300 dB to improve over existing experimental bounds. The RF leakage or electromagnetic crosstalk between both cavities must be well controlled and quantified during the complete duration of the experiment. A very narrow band (in the 10^-6 Hz range) homodyne detection method is used to reveal the axion signal from background thermal noise. The current status of the experiment is presented.