NeutrinoCenter.org | Global: Axion Experiments

Axion Experiments | impacts:

1. Solar axion helioscopes

Search for axions produced in the Sun, usually converting them to X-rays in strong magnetic fields.

Experiment, Status / type

• CAST — CERN Axion Solar Telescope, Completed / legacy helioscope

• IAXO — International Axion Observatory, Proposed next-generation helioscope; IAXO describes itself as a proposed fourth-generation axion helioscope

• BabyIAXO, Near-term IAXO pathfinder / intermediate helioscope at DESY; designed as an intermediate stage toward IAXO

• SUMICO — Tokyo Axion Helioscope, Completed / historical helioscope

2. Dark-matter axion haloscopes

Search for galactic dark-matter axions converting into microwave/radio photons inside resonators or electromagnetic structures.

• ADMX — Axion Dark Matter eXperiment, Major microwave-cavity Haloscope; 

                uses a strong magnetic field to convert dark-matter axions into detectable microwave photons

• ADMX-HF / HAYSTAC, High-frequency microwave Haloscope

• CAPP / IBS experiments, Korean axion Haloscope program; CAPP focuses on dark matter and axion/precision physics

• CAPP-PACE, IBS-CAPP pilot cavity haloscope

• CAPP-8TB, High-field microwave haloscope

• CAPP-9T, Microwave cavity haloscope

• CAPP-12TB, High-field axion haloscope

• CAPP-MAX, Large-volume CAPP axion search concept / program

• ORGAN — Oscillating Resonant Group AxioN, High-mass microwave haloscope

• QUAX, Searches axion–electron coupling and dark-matter axions

• RADES, Rectangular-cavity haloscope, often using CAST/IAXO-type magnet infrastructure

• HAYSTAC, Yale microwave-cavity haloscope

• TASEH — Taiwan Axion Search Experiment Haloscope, Microwave haloscope

• GrAHal, Grenoble axion haloscope

• KLASH, Large-volume low-mass axion haloscope proposal

• ACTION, Toroidal low-mass axion haloscope concept

• MADMAX, Dielectric haloscope for higher-mass QCD axions

• BRASS, Broadband dish-antenna axion search

• BREAD, Broadband reflector experiment for axion/dark-photon dark matter

• TOORAD, Topological antiferromagnet axion dark matter search

• DMRadio, Low-mass axion dark-matter search using lumped-element resonators

• ABRACADABRA, Low-mass axion dark-matter search using toroidal magnets

• SHAFT, Search for halo axions with ferromagnetic toroids

• aLIGO / interferometric axion searches, Searches for ultralight axion-like fields through precision interferometry.

3. Light-shining-through-wall experiments

Produce ALPs from photons in a magnetic field, block the photons, then try to regenerate photons from ALPs.

Experiment, Status / type

• ALPS I, Completed DESY light-shining-through-wall experiment

• ALPS II

• DESY LSW experiment; searches for WISPs including axion-like particles and hidden-sector photons

• OSQAR

• CERN LSW experiment using LHC dipole magnets

• BFRT

• Early LSW / optical axion search

• GammeV

• Fermilab LSW experiment

• LIPSS

• Jefferson Lab LSW experiment

• PVLAS, Polarization / vacuum birefringence ALP search

• BMV, Magnetic birefringence of vacuum experiment

4. Precision, spin, and fifth-force axion searches

Search for axion-mediated forces, oscillating EDMs, spin precession, or axion-wind effects.

Experiment, Status / type

• CASPEr-Wind, Nuclear spin-precession axion dark-matter search

• CASPEr-Electric, Oscillating electric dipole moment search

• ARIADNE, Axion-mediated monopole–dipole force search

• QUAX-gp / QUAX-ae, Axion coupling to electron/nucleon spin

• GNOME, Global magnetometer network for exotic fields

• nEDM axion searches, Neutron electric dipole moment experiments searching for oscillating axion-induced EDM

Storage-ring EDM searches, Precision searches sensitive to axion-like oscillating EDMs, Atomic/molecular spectroscopy axion searches

Searches for axion-induced variation of constants or spin couplings.

5. Astrophysical / cosmological probes

Not single-purpose lab detectors, but important axion/ALP constraints.

Probe / instrument, Axion relevance

• Fermi-LAT, ALP–photon conversion effects in gamma rays

• H.E.S.S. Gamma-ray ALP searches

• MAGIC, Gamma-ray ALP searches

• CTA — Cherenkov Telescope Array, Future gamma-ray ALP sensitivity

• Chandra / XMM-Newton / NuSTAR, X-ray ALP constraints from stars, clusters, compact objects

• Planck CMB, Cosmological limits on axion-like relics

• CMB-S4, Future cosmological axion sensitivity

• SN1987A constraints, Supernova cooling / gamma-ray ALP constraints

White dwarf / red giant / horizontal branch stars, Stellar cooling constraints

6. Beam dump, collider, and fixed-target ALP searches

Search for ALPs produced in high-energy collisions or intense beams.

Experiment, Axion/ALP relevance

• NA62, Rare meson decays / beam-dump ALP searches

• NA64, Missing-energy and visible dark-sector / ALP searches

• FASER / FASER2, Forward LHC ALP searches

• SHiP, Proposed beam-dump ALP search

• Belle II, ALPs in rare decays and photon final states

• BaBar, Legacy ALP constraints

• LHCb, Rare decays / displaced ALP searches

• ATLAS / CMS, Heavy resonance and photon-coupled ALP searches

• GlueX / PrimEx, Photon-coupled ALP searches

• SeaQuest / SpinQuest, Fixed-target dark-sector / ALP sensitivity

Core experimental classes: 

• Helioscopes

• Haloscopes

• Light-shining-through-wall experiments

• Spin/precision searches

• Accelerator/astrophysical probes. 

• BabyIAXO/IAXO

• LSW experiments