Broadband solenoidal haloscope for terahertz axion detection

TL;DR

The paper proposes a novel broadband haloscope design for detecting axion-like particles in the terahertz range, featuring a cylindrical reflector geometry that improves sensitivity and feasibility over existing methods.

Contribution

It introduces the BREAD design, a new broadband haloscope with a cylindrical reflector, enabling efficient dark matter detection across a wide mass range and overcoming current experimental limitations.

Findings

Pilot experiment at Fermilab could surpass existing dark photon constraints by over a decade.

Design achieves high sensitivity with feasible cryogenic and magnetic setups.

Projected sensitivity varies with sensor technology and experimental parameters.

Abstract

We introduce the Broadband Reflector Experiment for Axion Detection (BREAD) conceptual design and science program. This haloscope plans to search for bosonic dark matter across the [10$^{-3}$, 1] eV ([0.24, 240] THz) mass range. BREAD proposes a cylindrical metal barrel to convert dark matter into photons, which a novel parabolic reflector design focuses onto a photosensor. This unique geometry enables enclosure in standard cryostats and high-field solenoids, overcoming limitations of current dish antennas. A pilot 0.7 m$^{2}$ barrel experiment planned at Fermilab is projected to surpass existing dark photon coupling constraints by over a decade with one-day runtime. Axion sensitivity requires $<10^{-20}$ W/$\sqrt{\textrm{Hz}}$ sensor noise equivalent power with a 10 T solenoid and 10 m$^{2}$ barrel. We project BREAD sensitivity for various sensor technologies and discuss future prospects.