A quantum-enhanced search for dark matter axions

4 Aug 2020  ·  K. M. Backes, D. A. Palken, S. Al Kenany, B. M. Brubaker, S. B. Cahn, A. Droster, Gene C. Hilton, Sumita Ghosh, H. Jackson, S. K. Lamoreaux, A. F. Leder, K. W. Lehnert, S. M. Lewis, M. Malnou, R. H. Maruyama, N. M. Rapidis, M. Simanovskaia, Sukhman Singh, D. H. Speller, I. Urdinaran, Leila R. Vale, E. C. van Assendelft, K. van Bibber, H. Wang ·

In dark matter axion searches, quantum uncertainty manifests as a fundamental noise source, limiting the measurement of the quadrature observables used for detection. We use vacuum squeezing to circumvent the quantum limit in a search for a new particle. By preparing a microwave-frequency electromagnetic field in a squeezed state and near-noiselessly reading out only the squeezed quadrature, we double the search rate for axions over a mass range favored by recent theoretical projections. We observe no signature of dark matter axions in the combined $16.96-17.12$ and $17.14-17.28\space\mu\text{eV}/c^2$ mass window for axion-photon couplings above $g_{\gamma} = 1.38\times g_{\gamma}^\text{KSVZ}$, reporting exclusion at the 90% level.

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Quantum Physics High Energy Physics - Experiment