arXiv subjects

Junu Jeong

Publications and source records attributed to Junu Jeong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Extended High-Mass Axion Search with an Auxetically Tuned Higher-Order-Mode Cavity

Conventional high-mass axion haloscopes based on the TM$_{010}$ mode lose detection volume as the resonant frequency increases. We report an extended axion search using a dielectric-restored TM$_{020}$ cavity haloscope with symmetry-preserving auxetic tuning based on a single-degree-of-freedom mechanical architecture. Using a near-quantum-limited microwave receiver, we searched a frequency range of 4.98-5.07 GHz and exclude axion-photon couplings with sensitivity approaching the KSVZ benchmark. Together with two earlier searches, the present scans extend a multi-scan program based on this architecture, yielding nearly 300 MHz of contiguous high-mass axion coverage over 4.98-5.27 GHz, the first broad search reported with a single higher-order-mode haloscope. This work establishes higher-order-mode cavities as a practical, scalable route beyond the TM$_{010}$ volume penalty.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Effective Sub-Quantum Readout for Non-Monochromatic Axion Signals in High-$Q$ Haloscopes

The search for wave-like dark matter using microwave cavity haloscopes is constrained by the Standard Quantum Limit, which dictates that phase-preserving linear amplification results in a minimum of one quantum of total system noise for a narrow-band signal. We demonstrate that this limit is effectively halved for a non-monochromatic axion signal coupled to a high-$Q$ cavity. By operating a Josephson Parametric Amplifier such that the cavity resonance is centered exactly at the half-pump frequency, the axion signal symmetrically populates both the signal and idler bands. Through quadrature analysis of the homodyne readout, we show that the incoherent sum of these mirrored spectral components doubles the measured signal power while the vacuum noise remains constant. This operation yields an effective noise limit of 0.5 quanta per frequency bin, translating to an overall effective limit of $1/\sqrt{2}$ quanta after optimal matched filtering.

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arXiv2026

Design of ALPHA Phase I: A Plasma Haloscope for 10--20 GHz Post-Inflation Axions

The axion is a well-motivated hypothetical particle capable of resolving both the strong CP problem and the dark matter mystery, with recent post-inflationary cosmological simulations favoring masses above 40 {\mu}eV. Plasma haloscopes serve as a promising experimental approach to reach theoretically preferred sensitivities in this mass range. ALPHA, hosted at Yale Wright Laboratory, is an international collaboration developing plasma haloscopes to search for QCD dark matter axions. In this letter we present the detailed design and sensitivity projection for the first phase of the ALPHA experiment, which will search the mass range from 10 GHz to 20 GHz (~40 {\mu}eV to 80 {\mu}eV). This search will make use of wire-array plasma resonators to decouple the physical size from the resonant frequency, a limitation typically faced by traditional microwave cavities, allowing broadband sensitivity approaching KSVZ coupling strengths.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Extended Haloscope Search and Exclusion of a Candidate Signal near 1.036 GHz

We report a follow-up axion haloscope search near 1.036 GHz that completes and extends our previous work [Phys. Rev. X 14, 031023 (2024)], in which a portion of the HEMT-based data could not be analyzed due to unrecorded experimental information. While recovering this dataset, we identified an excess near 1.036 GHz that satisfied our candidate-selection criteria, motivating dedicated validation studies, including independent cross-checks and re-examination with the original apparatus. The excess did not persist under these investigations and was not confirmed as an axion dark-matter signal. We subsequently extended the search over a 20-MHz band surrounding the candidate using a quantum-noise-limited amplifier, achieving sensitivity close to the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky benchmark. In the absence of a confirmed signal, we set improved 90% confidence-level upper limits on the axion-photon coupling over the frequency range 1.026-1.045 GHz. This work highlights the importance of robust candidate-validation strategies as haloscope searches approach discovery-level sensitivity.

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arXiv2025

Search for high-frequency gravitational waves via re-analysis of cavity axion data

Monochromatic high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGW) provide a distinctive probe of new physics scenarios, most notably axion clouds around rotating black holes formed via superradiance. We reanalyzed data from the CAPP-12T MC (multi-cell) axion haloscope experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133,051802 (2024)]. The study covers a continuous $2\,$MHz frequency span centered at $5.311\,$GHz. No rescan candidates were found, and we set 90% confidence-level exclusion limits on the gravitational-wave strain, reaching $h_0 \approx 3.9 \times 10^{-21}$ in the most sensitive regions of the sky. Interpreted in the context of black-hole superradiance from axion clouds, the results exclude black holes with mass $M_{\mathrm{BH}} \simeq 1.22 \times 10^{-6}\,M_\odot$ within distances of $O(10^{-2})\,$AU from Earth, under benchmark assumptions. This work demonstrates the potential of electromagnetic resonant cavities as novel detectors of monochromatic HFGW and motivates future searches for both long-lived and transient signals.

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arXiv2025

Spiral Tuning of Wire-metamaterial Cavity for Plasma Haloscope

Axions are hypothetical particles that provide a compelling solution to two major mysteries in modern physics: the strong CP problem and the nature of dark matter. The plasma haloscope has been proposed as a promising approach for probing the higher-mass regime for dark matter axions by employing a periodic arrangement of conducting wires. In this work, we introduce a novel tuning mechanism for such wire-based structures by arranging the wires into a spiral configuration. This design enables continuous frequency tuning of 25% with a single central rotation while maintaining the form factor. It also achieves scanning speeds several times faster than traditional tuning approaches, primarily due to the circular perimeter geometry, making it well suited for solenoidal magnet bores. To validate the concept, we fabricated a prototype cavity with six spiral arms and experimentally demonstrated its feasibility, obtaining frequency tuning in close agreement with numerical simulations.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Probing KSVZ Axion Dark Matter near 5.9 GHz Using a 8-Cell Cavity Haloscope

We report on a search for axion dark matter in the frequency range near 5.9 GHz, conducted using the haloscope technique. The experiment employed an 8-cell microwave resonator designed to extend the accessible frequency range by a multi-fold factor relative to conventional single-cell configurations, while maintaining a large detection volume. To enhance sensitivity, a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) operating near the quantum noise limit was utilized, together with a sideband-summing method that coherently combines mirrored spectral components generated by the JPA. Data were acquired over the frequency range 5.83-5.94 GHz. With no statistically significant excess observed, we exclude axion-photon couplings $g_{aγγ}$ down to $1.2 \times 10^{-14}$ GeV$^{-1}$ at a 90% confidence level. The achieved sensitivity approaches the KSVZ benchmark prediction, setting the most stringent limits to date in this range.

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arXiv2025

Axion Dark Matter Search with Near-KSVZ Sensitivity Using the TM$_{020}$ Mode

Dark matter remains one of the most profound mysteries in modern physics, with axions, a hypothetical particle proposed to resolve the strong CP problem, standing as a compelling candidate. Among various experimental strategies, cavity haloscopes currently offer the most sensitive method to detect axions, though their searches have largely been confined to axion masses below 10 $μ$eV. However, recent theoretical developments suggest that the axion mass lies beyond this range. Higher-order cavity modes have been explored as a methodological approach to expand the search range, albeit with limited success in achieving both high sensitivity and broad tunability. In this work, we present a sensitive search for axions with masses around 21 $μ$eV, utilizing the TM$_{020}$ mode of a cylindrical cavity, which incorporated an innovative tuning mechanism. Our results reached 1.7 times the KSVZ sensitivity over 100 MHz, representing a significant improvement in this mass range and contributing to the experimental search for axion dark matter at higher masses.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Baseline filtering and peak reconstruction for haloscope-like axion searches

Axions are well-motivated dark matter particles. Many experiments are looking for their experimental evidence. For haloscopes, the problem reduces to the identification of a peak above a noisy baseline. Its modeling, however, may problematic. State-of-the-art analysis rely on the Savitzky-Golay (SG) filtering, which is intrinsically affected by any possible over fluctuation, leading to biased results. In this paper we study the efficiency that different extensions of SG can provide in the peak reconstruction in a standard haloscope-like experiment. We show that, once the correlations among bins are taken into account, there is no appreciable difference. The standard SG remains the advisable choice because of its numerical efficiency.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2024

Search for Dark Matter Axions with Tunable TM_020 mode

Axions are hypothesized particles believed to potentially resolve two major puzzles in modern physics: the strong CP problem and the nature of dark matter. Cavity-based axion haloscopes represent the most sensitive tools for probing their theoretically favored couplings to photons in the microelectronvolt range. However, as the search mass (or frequency) increases, the detection efficiency decreases, largely due to a decrease in cavity volume. Despite the potential of higher-order resonant modes to preserve experimental volume, their practical application in searches has been limited by the challenge of maintaining a high form factor over a reasonably wide search bandwidth. We introduce an innovative tuning method that uses the unique properties of auxetic materials, designed to effectively tune higher modes. This approach was applied to the TM_020 mode for a dark matter axion search exploring a mass range from 21.38 to 21.79 ueV, resulting in the establishment of new exclusion limits for axion-photon coupling greater than approximately 10^-13 GeV^-1. These findings signify a breakthrough, demonstrating that our tuning mechanism facilitates the practical utilization of higher-order modes for cavity haloscope searches.

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arXiv2024

Experimental search for invisible dark matter axions around 22 μeV

The axion has emerged as the most attractive solution to two fundamental questions in modern physics related to the charge-parity invariance in strong interactions and the invisible matter component of our universe. Over the past decade, there have been many theoretical efforts to constrain the axion mass based on various cosmological assumptions. Interestingly, different approaches from independent groups produce good overlap between 20 and 30 μeV. We performed an experimental search to probe the presence of dark matter axions within this particular mass region. The experiment utilized a multi-cell cavity haloscope embedded in a 12 T magnetic field to seek for microwave signals induced by the axion-photon coupling. The results ruled out the KSVZ axions as dark matter over a mass range between 21.86 and 22.00 μeV at a 90% confidence level. This represents a sensitive experimental search guided by specific theoretical predictions

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Parameter optimization of Josephson parametric amplifiers using a heuristic search algorithm for axion haloscope search

The cavity haloscope is among the most widely adopted experimental platforms designed to detect dark matter axions with its principle relying on the conversion of axions into microwave photons in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA), known for its quantum-limited noise characteristics, has been incorporated in the detection system to capture the weakly interacting axion signals. However, the performance of the JPA can be influenced by its environment, leading to potential unreliability of a predefined parameter set obtained in a specific laboratory setting. Furthermore, conducting a broadband search requires consecutive characterization of the amplifier across different tuning frequencies. To ensure more reliable measurements, we utilize the Nelder-Mead technique as a numerical search method to dynamically determine the optimal operating conditions. This heuristic search algorithm explores the multidimensional parameter space of the JPA, optimizing critical characteristics such as gain and noise temperature to maximize signal-to-noise ratios for a given experimental setup. Our study presents a comprehensive analysis of the properties of a flux-driven JPA to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. This approach contributes to ongoing efforts in axion dark matter research by offering an efficient method to enhance axion detection sensitivity through the optimized utilization of JPAs.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Extensive search for axion dark matter over 1\,GHz with CAPP's Main Axion eXperiment

We report an extensive high-sensitivity search for axion dark matter above 1\,GHz at the Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research (CAPP). The cavity resonant search, exploiting the coupling between axions and photons, explored the frequency (mass) range of 1.025\,GHz (4.24\,$μ$eV) to 1.185\,GHz (4.91\,$μ$eV). We have introduced a number of innovations in this field, demonstrating the practical approach of optimizing all the relevant parameters of axion haloscopes, extending presently available technology. The CAPP 12\,T magnet with an aperture of 320\,mm made of Nb$_3$Sn and NbTi superconductors surrounding a 37-liter ultralight-weight copper cavity is expected to convert DFSZ axions into approximately $10^2$ microwave photons per second. A powerful dilution refrigerator, capable of keeping the core system below 40\,mK, combined with quantum-noise limited readout electronics, achieved a total system noise of about 200\,mK or below, which corresponds to a background of roughly $4\times 10^3$ photons per second within the axion bandwidth. The combination of all those improvements provides unprecedented search performance, imposing the most stringent exclusion limits on axion--photon coupling in this frequency range to date. These results also suggest an experimental capability suitable for highly-sensitive searches for axion dark matter above 1\,GHz.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Development of axion haloscopes for high-mass search at CAPP

The axion offers a well-motivated solution to two fundamental questions in modern physics: the strong CP problem and the dark matter mystery. Cavity haloscopes, exploiting resonant enhancement of photon signals, provide the most sensitive searches for axion dark matter in the microwave region. However, current experimental sensitivities are limited to the O(10^0) ueV range, while recent theoretical predictions for the axion mass favor up to O(10^2) ueV, suggesting the need of new experimental approaches that are suitable for higher mass regions. CAPP has developed/proposed several haloscopes effective for high-mass axion searches based on new cavity concepts and practical tuning mechanisms. They are characterized by large detection volumes and/or high quality factors at high frequencies, achieved by partitioning a single cavity into multiple cells, exploiting higher-order resonant modes, and constructing dielectric photonic crystal structures. Improving on the dish antenna haloscope scheme, a horn antenna array has also been proposed for volume-efficient broadband search in the THz region. We review these haloscope designs for sensitive search in the high-mass regions and discuss their impacts on future experiments.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

Search for the Sagittarius Tidal Stream of Axion Dark Matter around 4.55 $μ$eV

We report the first search for the Sagittarius tidal stream of axion dark matter around 4.55 $μ$eV using CAPP-12TB haloscope data acquired in March of 2022. Our result excluded the Sagittarius tidal stream of Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitskii and Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov axion dark matter densities of $ρ_a\gtrsim0.184$ and $\gtrsim0.025$ GeV/cm$^{3}$, respectively, over a mass range from 4.51 to 4.59 $μ$eV at a 90% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Horn-array haloscope for volume-efficient broadband axion searches

The invisible axion is a hypothetical particle that arises from the Peccei-Quinn mechanism proposed to resolve the CP problem in quantum chromodynamics, and is considered one of the most favoured candidates for cold dark matter. Dish antennas can provide a useful scheme for sensitive search for dark matter axions. The conversion power through axion-photon couplings is proportional to the surface area of the metal plate, rather than the volume of the available magnetic field. To maximize the effect, we propose an advanced concept of haloscope that involves an array of horn antennae to increase the axion-induced photons and a reflector to focus them onto a photo sensor. Compared to other proposed schemes, this configuration can significantly improve the experimental sensitivity, especially in the terahertz region.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Simulation of Classical Axion Electrodynamics using COMSOL Multiphysics

The axion is a hypothetical particle motivated to address the strong CP problem, and is one of the appealing dark matter candidates. Numerous experimental searches for dark matter axions have been proposed relying on their coupling with photons. The classical equations of motion for the axion-photon coupling are well known but need to be fully computed for complex experimental setups. The partial differential equations of axion electrodynamics can be numerically solved using finite element methods. In this work, we simulate axion electrodynamics using COMSOL Multiphyics, a commercially available simulation software, for various experimental schemes, including the dish antenna haloscope, cavity haloscope, dielectric haloscope, and axion-photon regeneration. We show that the numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical solutions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Axion Dark Matter Search around 4.55 $μ$eV with Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitskii Sensitivity

We report an axion dark matter search at Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitskii sensitivity with the CAPP-12TB haloscope, assuming axions contribute 100\% of the local dark matter density. The search excluded the axion--photon coupling $g_{aγγ}$ down to about $6.2\times10^{-16}$ GeV$^{-1}$ over the axion mass range between 4.51 and 4.59 $μ$eV at a 90\% confidence level. The achieved experimental sensitivity can also exclude Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov axion dark matter that makes up just 13\% of the local dark matter density. The CAPP-12TB haloscope will continue the search over a wide range of axion masses.

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