Speaker
Description
GravNet is an international collaboration developing a distributed network of quantum-enhanced haloscopes to search for light dark matter and high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs) in the MHz-GHz frequency range. By coherently combining time-synchronized resonant detectors, GravNet aims to significantly extend the sensitivity achievable with individual experiments. The collaboration exploits the complementarity of resonant cavities operating over a wide frequency range and integrates state-of-the-art haloscope technology with emerging quantum sensors. Besides probing axions, axion-like particles, and dark photons, GravNet will explore the detection of HFGWs through the inverse Gertsenshtein effect, opening new opportunities to investigate the early Universe and other exotic astrophysical phenomena.
The first part of this talk will introduce the GravNet concept, its scientific objectives, and the current status of the collaboration, including ongoing developments in detector networking, HFGW–cavity coupling modelling, quantum sensing, and multimode data acquisition. The second part will focus on the two haloscope concepts being developed at INFN-LNF: FLASH and QUAX-LNF. FLASH is a large-volume (4 m³) tunable cavity operating in the 100–300 MHz range, designed to explore a largely uncharted region of the light bosonic dark matter parameter space. QUAX-LNF is a compact haloscope operating around 9 GHz, providing complementary sensitivity at higher frequencies while serving as a testbed for advanced quantum technologies. Together, these two detectors exemplify the broad frequency coverage and complementary experimental approaches that form the foundation of the GravNet network, paving the way toward a scalable observatory for light dark matter and high-frequency gravitational waves.
| Primary Abstract Topic | Experiment: Axions and Wave-Like-DM |
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