1 research outputs found
First results of the Laser-Interferometric Detector for Axions (LIDA)
We present the operating principle and the first observing run of a novel
kind of direct detector for axions and axion-like particles in the galactic
halo. Our experiment is sensitive to the polarisation rotation of linearly
polarised laser light induced by an axion field, and the first detector of its
kind collecting science data. We discuss our current peak sensitivity of
GeV (95 % confidence level) to the axion-photon
coupling strength in the axion mass range of 1.97-2.01 neV which is, for
instance, motivated by supersymmetric grand-unified theories. We also report on
effects that arise in our high-finesse in-vacuum cavity at unprecedented
optical continuous-wave intensity. Our detector already belongs to the most
sensitive direct searches within its measurement band, and our first results
pave the way towards surpassing the current sensitivity limits in the mass
range from eV down to eV via quantum-enhanced laser
interferometry