Searching for Light Dark Matter: A Broadband Test of a Tunable Haloscope

by Dr Dora Maiello (DFA)

Wednesday 4 Feb 2026, 16:45 → 17:00 Europe/Rome

1/2-2 - Aula C (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia - Edificio Marzolo)

Light dark matter candidates such as axions and dark photons could be detected through their conversion into microwave photons inside resonant cavities. A major challenge in these experiments is combining high sensitivity with the ability to search over a wide range of particle masses, which requires continuously tuning the resonant frequency of the cavity.

In this talk, I present a broadband haloscope test based on a superconducting Nb3Sn microwave cavity operating near 9 GHz. Frequency tuning is achieved through the mechanical separation of the cavity's two parts, allowing continuous tuning over more than 1GHz without impacting on sensitivity. I will show how this approach preserves a high quality factor across the entire tuning range and discuss the main experimental challenges and loss mechanisms.

These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed superconducting cavity for broadband searches of light dark matter in an unexplored frequency region.