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arXiv · 2309.03394

Photon counting for axion interferometry

Haocun Yu·Ohkyung Kwon·Hartmut Grote·Denis Martynov
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Abstract

Axions and axion-like particles are well-motivated dark matter candidates. We propose an experiment that uses single photon detection interferometry to search for axions and axion-like particles in the galactic halo. We show that photon counting with a dark rate of 6E-6 Hz can improve the quantum sensitivity of axion interferometry by a factor of 50 compared to the quantum-enhanced heterodyne readout for 5-m long optical resonators. The proposed experimental method has the potential to be scaled up to kilometer-long facilities, enabling the detection or setting of constraints on the axion-photon coupling coefficient of 1E-17 - 1E-16 GeV-1 for axion masses ranging from 0.1 to 1 neV.

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Haocun Yu, Ohkyung Kwon, Hartmut Grote, Denis Martynov. 2023-09-06. Photon counting for axion interferometry. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.109.095042

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