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Cavity Multimodes as an Array for High-Frequency Gravitational Waves

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: Microwave cavities operated in the presence of a background magnetic field provide a promising avenue for detecting high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs). We demonstrate for the first time that the distinct antenna patterns of multiple electromagnetic modes within a single cavity enable localization and reconstruction of key properties of an incoming HFGW signal, including its polarization ratio and frequency drift rate. Using a 9-cell cavity commonly employed in particle accelerators as a representative example, we analyze the time-domain response of 18 nearly degenerate modes, which can be sequentially excited by a frequency-drifting signal. The sensitivity is further enhanced by the number of available modes, in close analogy to the scaling achieved by a network of independent detectors, enabling sensitivity to astrophysically plausible binary sources.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2601.03341

Authors: Shang, Yanfei, Liu, Yuxin, Blas, Diego, Chen, Yifan, Shu, Jing

Institutions: Peking University, State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Institute for High Energy Physics, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

Topic: Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Villum Fonden, European Commission, National Research Foundation, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Generalitat de Catalunya, Peking University

OpenAlex ID: W7119503732

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