First results from the Generation-2 Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX)

Very few mysteries in our current picture of the universe are more intriguing than the puzzle of dark matter. The QCD axion, a weakly interacting, sub-eV particle is a compelling cold dark matter candidate and was originally postulated as a solution to the strong CP problem. This talk will give an overview of direct detection axion searches along with a detailed discussion of the most sensitive experiment to probe the QCD axion to date, ADMX. In particular, ADMX has demonstrated recent success in reaching the so-called DFSZ sensitivity covering axion mass ranges from 2.66 to 3.31 μeV. These results have crucial implications for the future direction of on-going dark matter searches.