Entangled Sensor-Networks for Dark-Matter Searches

The hypothetical axion particle (of unknown mass) is a leading candidate for dark matter (DM). Many experiments search for axions with microwave cavities, where an axion may convert into a cavity photon, leading to a feeble excess in the output power of the cavity. Recent work [Backes et al., Nature 590, 238 (2021)] has demonstrated that injecting squeezed vacuum into the cavity can substantially accelerate the axion search. Here, we go beyond and provide a theoretical framework to leverage the benefits of quantum squeezing in a network setting consisting of many sensor cavities. By forming a local sensor network, the signals among the cavities can be combined coherently to boost the axion search. Furthermore, injecting multipartite entanglement across the cavities-generated by splitting a squeezed vacuum-enables a global noise reduction. We explore the performance advantage of such a local, entangled sensor network, which enjoys both coherence between the axion signals and entanglement between the sensors. Our analyses are pertinent to next-generation DM-axion searches aiming to leverage a network of sensors and quantum resources in an optimal way. Finally, we assess the possibility of using a more exotic quantum state, the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) state. Despite a constant-factor improvement in the scan time relative to a single-mode squeezed state in the ideal case, the advantage of employing a GKP state disappears when a practical measurement scheme is considered.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the potential of injecting squeezed vacuum into a network of sensor cavities to accelerate axion searches and provides a theoretical framework to optimize the search using quantum entanglement and coherence. The feasibility of using GKP states is also evaluated, highlighting the limitations in practical measurement schemes.