Proposal For A Search For Cosmic Axions Using An Optical Cavity

A high finesse optical cavity can be used to search for cosmic axions in the mass range 10(-6)< m(a)< 10(-4) eV. Either a two-arm or a single-arm cavity is suitable, and in either case the signal appears as resonant sidebands imposed on the carrier. Assuming for the local axion density the usual figure of rho(a)=500 Mev/cm(3), the KSVZ axion line g(a gamma gamma)/m(a)=0.4 GeV(-2), can be reached over the full mass range in a 1 yr search.