Axion signal search using hybrid nuclear-electronic spin systems

Abstract:Conventional nuclear magnetic resonance searches for the galactic axion wind lose sensitivity at low frequencies due to the unfavourable scaling of inductive readout. Here, we propose a hybrid architecture where the hyperfine interaction transduces axion-driven nuclear precession into a high-bandwidth electron-spin readout channel. We demonstrate analytically that this dispersive upconversion preserves the specific sidereal and annual modulation signatures required to distinguish dark matter signals from instrumental backgrounds. When instantiated in a silicon ${ }^{209} \text{Bi}$ donor platform, the hybrid sensor is projected to outperform direct nuclear detection by more than an order of magnitude over the $10^{-16}-10^{-10} \text{eV}$ wide mass range. With collective enhancement, the design reaches a $5 \sigma$ sensitivity to DFSZ axion-nucleon couplings within one year, establishing hyperfine-mediated sensing as a competitive path for compact, solid-state dark matter searches.

arXiv:2601.06816 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2601.06816v3 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.06816 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

Phys. Rev. D 114, L051902 Published 8 September, 2026

https://doi.org/10.1103/4rbk-zmxk Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources

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