Cavity Development for the Princeton Axion Search

The Princeton Axion Search (PXS) utilizes a cylindrical cavity of 35 cm radius and 102 cm height, which will be immersed in a 5 Tesla magnetic field. The experiment will search for Axion Dark Matter of 0.8-2.1 μeV mass (200-500 MHz) at DFSZ sensitivity. We present room temperature measurements of an aluminum prototype cavity of the same dimensions. Studies include bead pulls which verify and map the electric and magnetic fields of the empty cavity. A tuning rod of 6 inches in diameter allows for frequency coverage from 390 - 480 MHz. Across this range, we see mode crossings and observe the corresponding effects on form factor and quality factor.