Dark matter Axion search with riNg Cavity Experiment DANCE: Current sensitivity

Abstract

Dark matter Axion search with riNg Cavity Experiment (DANCE) was proposed. To search for axion-like particles, we aim to detect the rotation and oscillation of optical linear polarization caused by axion-photon coupling with a bow-tie cavity. DANCE can improve the sensitivity to axion-photon coupling constant $g_{a \gamma}$ for axion mass $m_a < 10^{-10} \, \rm{eV}$ by several orders of magnitude compared to the best upper limits at present. A prototype experiment DANCE Act-1 is in progress to demonstrate the feasibility of the method and to investigate technical noises. We assembled the optics, evaluated the performance of the cavity, and estimated the current sensitivity. If we observe for a year, we can reach $g_{a \gamma} \simeq 9 \times 10^{-7} \, \rm{GeV^{-1}}$ at $m_a \simeq 10^{-13} \, \rm{eV}$. The current sensitivity was believed to be limited by laser intensity noise at low frequencies and by mechanical vibration at high frequencies.