Speaker
Description
Understanding the nature of dark matter remains one of the most compelling and urgent questions in modern physics. Simultaneously, the groundbreaking discovery of gravitational waves has opened an entirely new observational window onto the Universe, allowing scientists to explore cosmic phenomena previously hidden from view using traditional electromagnetic methods. Looking ahead, the high-frequency regime—ranging from MHz to GHz—holds the potential to reveal an unexplored frontier of astrophysical and cosmological processes.
The INFN National Laboratories in Frascati (LNF) are actively engaged in axion dark matter research and are poised to play a leading role in the search for high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs) through their involvement in GravNet. GravNet is a planned network of cryogenic detectors—originally designed as haloscopes for axion detection—repurposed and optimized for gravitational wave observation in the high-frequency band. By extending the accessible parameter space, GravNet could pave the way toward the first detection of high-frequency gravitational waves.
Currently, one haloscope is operational at LNF as part of the QUAX experiment, while a second, FLASH, is under development. FLASH will make use of the 3-meter bore magnet formerly employed in the FINUDA experiment.
Complementing these efforts, the COLD lab team at INFN Frascati (coldlab.lnf.infn.it) is developing advanced superconducting qubit-based devices to enhance the sensitivity of these detectors. Superconducting qubits offer tremendous potential, but their integration into strong magnetic field environments presents significant technical challenges. Overcoming these obstacles involves either transporting signals to magnetically shielded areas or engineering qubits that are inherently resilient to such fields. Additionally, readout errors from noise and qubit dephasing can degrade sensitivity—issues that can be addressed using quantum non-demolition techniques, including repeated measurements or the deployment of multiple qubits operating in parallel.