Optimising Re-entrant Cavity Designs for Low Mass Axion Haloscopes

Abstract

Axion haloscopes provide a leading experimental approach to detecting QCD axion dark matter through resonant axion-photon conversion in microwave cavities. Extending haloscope sensitivity to low axion masses remains challenging due to the large resonator volumes required at sub-GHz frequencies. Re-entrant cavities offer a compact solution, but their performance depends strongly on geometric optimisation. We present a comprehensive finite-element study of re-entrant cavity haloscope designs operating in the 100 to 500 MHz range, comparing their performance using effective scan time as a figure of merit. Among the configurations studied, we identify a double attack geometry that achieves a roughly threefold improvement in effective scan time compared to a conventional single-rod re-entrant cavity. We further investigate practical implementation strategies, including a hybrid design employing one fixed rod and one tunable rod, which preserves a scan time gain while reducing mechanical complexity. These results demonstrate a pathway to enhanced low-mass axion haloscope sensitivity.