Speaker
Description
The QCD axion is one of the most well motivated dark matter candidates that would also solve the Strong CP Problem. Its potential mass range spans many orders of magnitude with much of this region still unexplored. At low masses (sub-ueV), axions can be detected via the lumped-element detection technique. Axion signals induced on a pickup are enhanced through an LC resonator and read out using DC SQUIDs. CAL-Pathfinder, an experiment in the DMRadio program, aims to demonstrate this technique using a solenoidal magnet and coaxial pickup geometry while being sensitive to a previously unexplored region of the axion parameter space. CAL-Pathfinder will search for axions in the 100 -130 MHz (0.45 - 0.55 µeV ) range at a coupling strength down to 26 times KSVZ. The experiment will also conduct a high frequency gravitational wave search with a potential to reach strain sensitivities eleven orders of magnitude smaller than existing searches. This talk will present an overview of the CAL-Pathfinder detector design as well as an update on the current status of construction and commissioning.