Cavity Characterization for the Princeton Axion Search
Abstract
The Princeton Axion Search (PXS) targets the mass window 0.8−−2.1 μeV (corresponding to frequencies 200−−500 MHz) at DFSZ sensitivity. The experiment, a haloscope, will use a cylindrical copper-plated aluminum cavity of 700 mm diameter and 1022 mm height, immersed in a 5 T solenoidal magnetic field. A 152 mm diameter tuning rod spanning the height of the cavity rotates to tune the primary mode resonance from 390−−480 MHz, the frequency range for initial operations. We deduce the electric and magnetic field mode patterns using a combination of dielectric and metallic bead perturbations on the empty cavity. The measured mode frequencies and the TM010 field profile, as a function of tuning rod position, are in excellent agreement with simulations. We describe the effect of fabrication and assembly imperfections, including the bowing of end plates and tilt of the tuning rod. The welded seams and end-cap joints are demonstrated to not significantly degrade Q. We combine measurement and simulation to assess an uncertainty on form factor across the full tuning range. Our results validate PXS's cavity architecture and inform future searches for sub-μeV axions, in which large-volume high-Q structures are required to reach QCD sensitivity.
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BibTeX
@misc{otto2026cavity,
title = {{Cavity Characterization for the Princeton Axion Search}},
author = {Nate Otto and Jianyang Fu and Joelle-Marie Begin and Saptarshi Chaudhuri and Roman Kolevatov and Lyman Page and Joe Wiedemann},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.12298},
eprint = {2610.12298},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12298},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Cavity Characterization for the Princeton Axion Search
AU - Nate Otto
AU - Jianyang Fu
AU - Joelle-Marie Begin
AU - Saptarshi Chaudhuri
AU - Roman Kolevatov
AU - Lyman Page
AU - Joe Wiedemann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.12298
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12298
AB - The Princeton Axion Search (PXS) targets the mass window 0.8−−2.1 μeV (corresponding to frequencies 200−−500 MHz) at DFSZ sensitivity. The experiment, a haloscope, will use a cylindrical copper-plated aluminum cavity of 700 mm diameter and 1022 mm height, immersed in a 5 T solenoidal magnetic field. A 152 mm diameter tuning rod spanning the height of the cavity rotates to tune the primary mode resonance from 390−−480 MHz, the frequency range for initial operations. We deduce the electric and magnetic field mode patterns using a combination of dielectric and metallic bead perturbations on the empty cavity. The measured mode frequencies and the TM_010 field profile, as a function of tuning rod position, are in excellent agreement with simulations. We describe the effect of fabrication and assembly imperfections, including the bowing of end plates and tilt of the tuning rod. The welded seams and end-cap joints are demonstrated to not significantly degrade Q. We combine measurement and simulation to assess an uncertainty on form factor across the full tuning range. Our results validate PXS's cavity architecture and inform future searches for sub-μeV axions, in which large-volume high-Q structures are required to reach QCD sensitivity.
ER -