First Limits on Axion Dark Matter from a DALI Prototype

TL;DR

This paper presents a pilot search for axion dark matter using a cryogenic, magnetized prototype, setting new exclusion limits in a specific frequency band and demonstrating the potential for future, more sensitive experiments.

Contribution

First limits on axion-photon coupling from a scaled-down DALI prototype, paving the way for a broader search with upgraded instrumentation.

Findings

No significant excess detected in 36 hours of data.

Set new exclusion limits on axion-photon coupling.

Demonstrated the viability of the DALI approach.

Abstract

We report a pilot dark-matter search with a cryogenic, magnetized, scaled-down DALI prototype. An analysis of 36 hours of data reveals no statistically significant excess attributable to axionlike particles. We therefore set new exclusion limits in the 6.883--6.920 GHz band, reaching an axion-photon coupling sensitivity of $g_{a\gamma\gamma}\lesssim 1.27\times10^{-11}\,\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ at 28.54 $\mu$eV. These results consolidate the DALI approach and motivate a next-stage haloscope to explore a broader mass range with upgraded instrumentation.