Dynamic Haloscope Scanning for Axion Dark Matter Searches

Innovations in the design and operation of haloscope based axion dark matter searches have resulted in numerous improvements to the spectral scan rate, allowing multiple experiments to produce exclusions at benchmark sensitivity in parts of the 1-10GHz frequency band. As the field progresses and experiments look to probe finer sensitivities and higher frequencies, it has become increasingly necessary to identify techniques that are compatible with previous developments such that the speedups can work in tandem. Here we present a method of operation that takes advantage of the flexibility allowed by a Bayesian data analysis framework to dynamically alter the scanning trajectory of the detector. By processing the incoming data in real time, the dynamic scanning protocol can make an informed decision on the fly about how long to probe each bin in order to hit a desired sensitivity. The result is a speedup that adds no operational complexity, and is fully compatible with any underlying detector technology. In this talk, I will describe results from a proof-of-concept demonstration and details of implementation in the HAYSTAC detector.