Earth-Ionosphere Resonance Tightens Ultralight Axion Limits 100-Fold Using Decade of Geomagnetic Data
The study converts a decade of routine geomagnetic monitoring into a competitive dark-matter search by treating the planet as the detector volume. It yields the strongest laboratory limits on ultralight axions in the 8-30 Hz window and flags unexplained narrowband power whose spatial distribution can discriminate axions from dark photons. Independent multi-station verification is the immediate next step required to elevate the candidates beyond statistical fluctuations.
Confirmation requires simultaneous observations at stations separated by thousands of kilometers to map the predicted spatial pattern; absence of the Southeast Asia excess would falsify an axion interpretation. Existing global magnetometer arrays already provide the necessary cadence, so a re-analysis within 18 months could either strengthen the candidates or push limits another factor of three lower.
Taruya: Multi-station re-analysis of 2023-2025 data will either confirm or exclude the 8 Hz dark-photon candidates at >5 sigma within 24 months.
Sources (2)
- [1]Primary Source(https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.110.063028)
- [2]Supporting Source(https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260904000328.htm)