Progress on the ARIADNE Axion Experiment

Abstract

The Axion Resonant InterAction Detection Experiment (ARIADNE) is a collaborative effort to search for the QCD axion using techniques based on nuclear magnetic resonance (Arvanitaki and Geraci, Phys Rev Lett 113:161801, 2014). In the experiment, axions or axion-like particles would mediate shortrange spin-dependent interactions between a laser-polarized He-3 gas and a rotating (unpolarized) tungsten source mass, acting as a tiny, fictitious magnetic field. The experiment has the potential to probe deep within the theoretically interesting regime for the QCD axion in the mass range of 0.1-10 meV, independently of cosmological assumptions. The experiment relies on a stable rotary mechanism and superconducting magnetic shielding, required to screen the He-3 sample from ordinary magnetic noise. Progress on testing the stability of the rotary mechanism is reported, and the design for the superconducting shielding is discussed.