Detecting Axion Dark Matter with an Organic Molecular Maser

Abstract

We present a novel quantum sensing approach to search for axion-electron interactions around the axion mass of 6 \mueV. In this region, laboratory searches are relatively scarce, and our direct experiment measuring the axion-electron coupling constant reaches the sensitivity of 8 \times 10^{-6} GeV^{-1}. The method, based on an organic molecular maser establishes a proof-of-principle for quantum-enhanced detection, with a corresponding magnetic field sensitivity of 0.85 fT/\sqrt{\rm{Hz}}. The methodology is generic and can be readily extended to other physical systems, further broadening its applicability in quantum sensing and dark matter searches.