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  • Open Access

Broadband interferometry-based searches for photon-axion conversion in vacuum

Josep Maria Batllori*, Dieter Horns, and Marios Maroudas

  • Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, D-22761 Hamburg, Germany

  • *Contact author: josep.batllori.berenguer@uni-hamburg.de
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 063059 – Published 30 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tpwx-n9ss

Abstract

A novel experiment is introduced to detect photon-axion conversion independent of the dark-matter hypothesis in a broad mass-range called WISP Interferometer (WINTER). The setup consists of a free-space Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer incorporating an external magnetic field and vacuum in one of the arms, where photon-axion mixing occurs via the Primakoff effect and is detected through changes in amplitude. The expected axion-induced signal is then modulated by polarization changes. The experiment is designed to integrate a Fabry-Pérot cavity with a finesse of 105 that will be operated in a vacuum environment, significantly enhancing the sensitivity. It is projected to reach the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky theoretical line with photon-axion coupling sensitivities down to gaγγ≃3.7×10−14  GeV−1 for axion masses up to 380 μeV.

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Corrections

11 June, 2026

Correction: Minor errors in Eqs. (A17), (A18), and (B7) and in the text following (B3) have been fixed.

Article Text

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 063059– Published 30 March, 2026
  • Received 11 October 2025
  • Accepted 24 February 2026
  • Corrected 11 June 2026
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