Search for dark matter axions at 1-2 micro-eV with a RADES-DarkQuantum haloscope at CERN
Abstract
The QCD axion remains one of the most compelling candidates for the dark matter of the Universe, yet the mass range around $1$\text{--}\SI{2}{\micro\electronvolt} remains essentially unexplored. In this paper, we describe a proposal to employ CERN's M1 superconducting magnet to deploy a haloscope to perform a search for galactic axion and axion-like particle dark matter providing continuous coverage from approximately 1.2 to 1.8 \SI{}{\micro\electronvolt}. Under conservative assumptions, the experiment can reach the QCD axion band over a significant fraction of the scanned range, while optimistic detector performance would allow sensitivity to benchmark models such as KSVZ and DFSZ over a large part of the explored mass interval. With the current long shut-down of CERN's accelerators providing a unique and timely window, such an experiment will deliver high-impact results even in conservative scenarios and potentially delivering a definitive test of the axion dark matter paradigm in the unexplored $1$\text{--}\SI{2}{\micro\electronvolt} mass range.
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BibTeX
@misc{puente2026search,
title = {{Search for dark matter axions at 1-2 micro-eV with a RADES-DarkQuantum haloscope at CERN}},
author = {Alberto Arcusa Puente and Sergio Arguedas Cuendis and Marcos Buetas Mata and Sergio Calatroni and Cristian Cogollos and Alejandro Díaz-Morcillo and Babette Döbrich and Jacob Egge and Elisa Gabbrielli and Javier Galindo Guarch and Jose María García-Barceló and Benito Gimeno and Yikun Gu and Sophia Hollick and Igor Garcia Irastorza and David Kittlinger and Adrian Lambies-Asensio and Axel Lindner and Manuel Meyer and Adrián Muñoz-Urán and Jose R. Navarro-Madrid and Tobias Ortmann and Sagar Paul and Angel Rodriguez and Kristof Schmieden and Laura Segui and Wolfgang Wernsdorfer and Mina Yami},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.07806},
eprint = {2611.07806},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.07806},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Search for dark matter axions at 1-2 micro-eV with a RADES-DarkQuantum haloscope at CERN
AU - Alberto Arcusa Puente
AU - Sergio Arguedas Cuendis
AU - Marcos Buetas Mata
AU - Sergio Calatroni
AU - Cristian Cogollos
AU - Alejandro Díaz-Morcillo
AU - Babette Döbrich
AU - Jacob Egge
AU - Elisa Gabbrielli
AU - Javier Galindo Guarch
AU - Jose María García-Barceló
AU - Benito Gimeno
AU - Yikun Gu
AU - Sophia Hollick
AU - Igor Garcia Irastorza
AU - David Kittlinger
AU - Adrian Lambies-Asensio
AU - Axel Lindner
AU - Manuel Meyer
AU - Adrián Muñoz-Urán
AU - Jose R. Navarro-Madrid
AU - Tobias Ortmann
AU - Sagar Paul
AU - Angel Rodriguez
AU - Kristof Schmieden
AU - Laura Segui
AU - Wolfgang Wernsdorfer
AU - Mina Yami
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.07806
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.07806
AB - The QCD axion remains one of the most compelling candidates for the dark matter of the Universe, yet the mass range around $1$\text{--}\SI{2}{\micro\electronvolt} remains essentially unexplored. In this paper, we describe a proposal to employ CERN's M1 superconducting magnet to deploy a haloscope to perform a search for galactic axion and axion-like particle dark matter providing continuous coverage from approximately 1.2 to 1.8 \SI{}{\micro\electronvolt}. Under conservative assumptions, the experiment can reach the QCD axion band over a significant fraction of the scanned range, while optimistic detector performance would allow sensitivity to benchmark models such as KSVZ and DFSZ over a large part of the explored mass interval. With the current long shut-down of CERN's accelerators providing a unique and timely window, such an experiment will deliver high-impact results even in conservative scenarios and potentially delivering a definitive test of the axion dark matter paradigm in the unexplored $1$\text{--}\SI{2}{\micro\electronvolt} mass range.
ER -