Parameter Optimization of Josephson Parametric Amplifiers Using a Heuristic Search Algorithm for Axion Haloscope Search

The cavity haloscope is among the most widely adopted experimental platforms designed to detect dark matter axions with its principle relying on the conversion of axions into microwave photons in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA), known for its quantum...

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Published inElectronics (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 11; p. 2127
Main Authors Kim, Younggeun, Jeong, Junu, Youn, Sungwoo, Bae, Sungjae, van Loo, Arjan F., Nakamura, Yasunobu, Uchaikin, Sergey, Semertzidis, Yannis K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2024
Subjects
Algorithms
Amplifiers (Electronics)
Atoms & subatomic particles
Broadband
Dark matter
Detectors
Experiments
Heuristic
Hypothetical particles
Magnetic fields
Noise control
Noise temperature
Optimization
Parameters
Parametric amplifiers
Search algorithms
Search methods
Sensitivity enhancement
Temperature
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Summary:The cavity haloscope is among the most widely adopted experimental platforms designed to detect dark matter axions with its principle relying on the conversion of axions into microwave photons in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA), known for its quantum-limited noise characteristics, has been incorporated into the detection system to capture the weakly interacting axion signals. However, the performance of the JPA can be influenced by its environment, leading to the potential unreliability of a predefined parameter set obtained in a specific laboratory setting. Furthermore, conducting a broadband search requires the consecutive characterization of the amplifier across different tuning frequencies. To ensure more reliable measurements, we utilize the Nelder–Mead technique as a numerical search method to dynamically determine the optimal operating conditions. This heuristic search algorithm explores the multidimensional parameter space of the JPA, optimizing critical characteristics such as gain and noise temperature to maximize signal-to-noise ratios for a given experimental setup. Our study presents a comprehensive analysis of the properties of a flux-driven JPA to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. This approach contributes to ongoing efforts in axion dark matter research by offering an efficient method to enhance axion detection sensitivity through the optimized utilization of JPAs.
ISSN:2079-9292
2079-9292
DOI:10.3390/electronics13112127