The Search for Dark Matter Axions

Abstract

Axions solve the Strong CP Problem and are a cold dark matter candidate. The combined constraints from accelerator searches, stellar evolution limits and cosmology suggest that the axion mass is in the range $3 \cdot 10^{-3} > m_a > 10^{-6}$ eV. The lower bound can, however, be relaxed in a number of ways. I discuss the constraint on axion models from the absence of isocurvature perturbations. Dark matter axions can be searched for on Earth by stimulating their conversion to microwave photons in an electromagnetic cavity permeated by a magnetic field. Using this technique, limits on the local halo density have been obtained by the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment.