Mississippi State Axion Search: A Light Shining though a Wall ALP Search

TL;DR

The Mississippi State Axion Search uses a light shining through a wall technique with RF cavities and magnetic fields to detect axion-like particles, aiming to explore their coupling to photons.

Contribution

This paper presents the design and projected sensitivities of the MASS experiment employing RF cavities and magnetic fields for axion-like particle detection.

Findings

Conceptual design of the MASS apparatus

Projected sensitivity to axion-like particles

Potential to improve existing constraints

Abstract

The elegant solutions to the strong CP problem predict the existence of a particle called axion. Thus, the search for axion like particles (ALP) has been an ongoing endeavor. The possibility that these axion like particles couple to photons in presence of magnetic field gives rise to a technique of detecting these particles known as light shining through a wall (LSW). Mississippi State Axion Search (MASS) is an experiment employing the LSW technique in search for axion like particles. The apparatus consists of two radio frequency (RF) cavities, both under the influence of strong magnetic field and separated by a lead wall. While one of the cavities houses a strong RF generator, the other cavity houses the detector systems. The MASS apparatus looks for excesses in RF photons that tunnel through the wall as a signature of candidate axion-like particles. The concept behind the experiment as well as the projected sensitivities are presented here.