Collaborative Research: Axion Resonant InterAction DetectioN Experiment (ARIADNE)

The Axion Resonant InterAction Detection Experiment (ARIADNE) intends to search for the QCD axion using techniques based on nuclear magnetic resonance. Axions or axion-like particles will generically mediate short-range spin-dependent interactions between an ensemble of nuclear spins and an (un-polarized) attractor mass. In the experiment, a sample of laser-polarized 3He nuclear spins feels a fictitious “magnetic field” as the teeth of a sprocket-shaped tungsten attractor rotate past the sample at its nuclear Larmor precession frequency. Here the axion is acting as the mediating boson responsible for the interaction. The experiment has the potential to probe deep within the theoretically interesting regime for the QCD axion in the mass range of 0.01-10 meV, while being independent of cosmological assumptions. The setup relies on a stable rotary mechanism and superconducting magnetic shielding, required to screen the 3He sample from ordinary magnetic noise. The goal of this initial round of funding is to test several components relevant for the ARIADNE project, as described below.