Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 39: Gravitational Waves II

T 39.1: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 16:15–16:30, KS 00.005

Cavity-Based High-Frequency Gravitational-Wave Detection at GravNet — •Stefan Horodenski, Kristof Schmieden, Matthias Schott, and Swarangee Saraf — University of Bonn, Physikalisches Institut, Bonn, Germany

The GravNet collaboration aims to perform the first detection of high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs) in the GHz range (1-10 GHz), which could provide sensitivity to primordial black holes, one candidate for dark matter.

GravNet is a network of high-frequency gravitational-wave detectors currently under construction. One detector concept exploits the inverse Gertsenshtein effect, in which gravitational waves induce electromagnetic signals in small, strongly magnetized radio-frequency (RF) cavities.

The experimental setup comprises a cryogenic cylindrical RF cavity mounted inside a 12 T superconducting magnet and coupled to an ultra-low-noise readout chain, whose first amplification stage is a traveling-wave parametric amplifier (TWPA), enabling near-quantum-limited noise performance. We discuss the prospects of RF-based gravitational-wave searches and present the development of a new experimental setup at Bonn, including optimization of the prototype cavity and characterization of the TWPA.

Keywords: Gravitational Waves; Radio frequency cavity; GravNet; Gertsenshtein effect; High frequency gravitational waves