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Searching for axion dark matter with array-scalable single magnon detectors

Clarence Chang1,2,3,*, T. J. Hobbs1, Dafei Jin4, Yi Li5, Marharyta Lisovenko1, Valentine Novosad5, Zain H. Saleem6, Tanner Trickle7,†, and Gensheng Wang1

  • *Contact author: clchang@anl.gov
  • †Contact author: ttrickle@fnal.gov
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 015016 – Published 14 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/d5rj-8h94

Abstract

We introduce an array-scalable, magnon-based detector to search for the spin-dependent interactions of electron-coupled axion dark matter with mass in the 1−100  μeV range. These axions can excite single magnons in magnetic targets, such as yttrium iron garnet (YIG) spheres, which are subsequently sensed by the detector. In our concept, this sensing is implemented by coupling the magnons in the YIG spheres to magnetic-field-resilient single-electron charge-qubits, whose state is then interrogated with a quantum nondemolition measurement. Using standard superconducting fabrication techniques, it is possible to integrate many YIG sphere-qubit sensors, forming a large detector array. We outline the detector design and operation for our concept, and determine its sensitivity to axion dark matter. We find that using available technology can already exceed the sensitivity of previous ferromagnetic haloscopes, and further improvements in performance would search for electron-coupled axion dark matter in unexplored parameter space.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 015016– Published 14 January, 2026
  • Received 26 June 2025
  • Revised 22 September 2025
  • Accepted 24 December 2025
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