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<m₀<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 ₀=500 Mev/cm^3, the KSVZ axion line g₀/m₀=0. 4 GeV^-2, can be reached over the full mass range in a 1 yr search.