Cavity Multimodes as an Array for High-Frequency Gravitational Waves

TL;DR

This paper proposes using multimode microwave cavities with magnetic fields as a novel method to detect and analyze high-frequency gravitational waves, enabling localization and property reconstruction of the signals.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach utilizing multiple electromagnetic modes in a single cavity for high-frequency gravitational wave detection and characterization.

Findings

Demonstrates mode-based localization of HFGWs

Analyzes time-domain response of nearly degenerate modes

Shows enhanced sensitivity comparable to detector networks

Abstract

Microwave cavities operated in the presence of a background magnetic field provide a promising avenue for detecting high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs). We demonstrate for the first time that the distinct antenna patterns of multiple electromagnetic modes within a single cavity enable localization and reconstruction of key properties of an incoming HFGW signal, including its polarization ratio and frequency drift rate. Using a 9-cell cavity commonly employed in particle accelerators as a representative example, we analyze the time-domain response of 18 nearly degenerate modes, which can be sequentially excited by a frequency-drifting signal. The sensitivity is further enhanced by the number of available modes, in close analogy to the scaling achieved by a network of independent detectors, enabling sensitivity to astrophysically plausible binary sources.