We propose an experiment to search for QCD axion and axion-like-particle (ALP) dark matter. Nuclei that are interacting with the background axion dark matter acquire time-varying CP-odd nuclear moments such as an electric dipole moment. In analogy with nuclear magnetic resonance, these moments cause precession of nuclear spins in a material sample in the presence of an electric field. Precision magnetometry can be used to search for such precession. An initial phase of this experiment could cover many orders of magnitude in ALP parameter space beyond the current astrophysical and laboratory limits. And with established techniques, the proposed experimental scheme has sensitivity to QCD axion masses m_a < 10^-9 eV, corresponding to theoretically well-motivated axion decay constants f_a > 10^16 GeV. With further improvements, this experiment could ultimately cover the entire range of masses m_a < 10^-6 eV, complementary to cavity searches.
The Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment (CASPEr) is a nuclear magnetic resonance experiment (NMR) seeking to detect axion and axion-like particles which could make up the dark matter present in the universe. We review the predicted couplings of axions and axion-like particles with baryonic matter that enable their detection via NMR. We then describe two measurement schemes being implemented in CASPEr. The first method, presented in the original CASPEr proposal, consists of a resonant search via continuous-wave NMR spectroscopy. This method offers the highest sensitivity for frequencies ran…
An overview of our experimental program to search for axion and axion-like-particle (ALP) dark matter using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques is presented. An oscillating axion field can exert a time-varying torque on nuclear spins either directly or via generation of an oscillating nuclear electric dipole moment (EDM). Magnetic resonance techniques can be used to detect such an effect. The first-stage experiments explore many decades of ALP parameter space beyond the current astrophysical and laboratory bounds. It is anticipated that future versions of the experiments will be sensit…
The QCD axion is one of the most appealing candidates for the dark matter in the Universe. In this article, we discuss the possibility to predict the axion mass in the context of a simple renormalizable grand unified theory where the Peccei-Quinn scale is determined by the unification scale. In this framework, the axion mass is predicted to be in the range $m_a \simeq (3 - 13) \times 10^{-9} \ \rm{eV}$. We study the axion phenomenology and find that the ABRACADABRA and CASPEr-Electric experiments will be able to fully probe this mass window.
We propose a new window to detect axion-like particle (ALP) dark matter from electrically charged fermions, such as electrons and quarks. We specifically consider a direct interaction between the axion and the electron and find that the non-relativistic quantum dynamics induces a spin precession due to the axion and is enhanced by the application of an external electric field. This precession gives a change in magnetic flux which under certain circumstances can yield a detectable signal for SQUID magnetometers.
Axion-like particles are promising candidates to make up the dark matter of the universe, but it is challenging to design experiments that can detect them over their entire allowed mass range. Dark matter in general, and in particular axion-like particles and hidden photons, can be as light as roughly $10^{-22} \;\rm{eV}$ ($\sim 10^{-8} \;\rm{Hz}$), with astrophysical anomalies providing motivation for the lightest masses ("fuzzy dark matter"). We propose experimental techniques for direct detection of axion-like dark matter in the mass range from roughly $10^{-13} \;\rm{eV}$ ($\sim 10^2 \;\rm…
Axions and axion-like particles may couple to nuclear spins like a weak oscillating effective magnetic field, the "axion wind." Existing proposals for detecting the axion wind sourced by dark matter exploit analogies to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and aim to detect the small transverse field generated when the axion wind resonantly tips the precessing spins in a polarized sample of material. We describe a new proposal using the homogeneous precession domain (HPD) of superfluid helium-3 as the detection medium, where the effect of the axion wind is a small shift in the precession frequency…
We propose to search for axion dark matter via the oscillating electric dipole moments that axions induce in atoms and molecules. These moments are produced through the intrinsic oscillating electric dipole moments of nucleons and through the $P,T$-violating nucleon-nucleon interaction mediated by pion exchange, both of which arise due to the axion-gluon coupling, and also directly through the axion-electron interaction. Axion dark matter may also be sought for through the spin-precession effects that axions produce by directly coupling to fermion spins.
We explore whether the axion which solves the strong CP problem can naturally be much lighter than the canonical QCD axion. The $Z_\mathcal{N}$ symmetry proposed by Hook, with $\mathcal{N}$ mirror and degenerate worlds coexisting in Nature and linked by the axion field, is considered and the associated phenomenology is studied in detail. On a second step, we show that dark matter can be accounted for by this extremely light axion. This includes the first proposal of a "fuzzy dark matter" QCD axion. A novel misalignment mechanism occurs -- trapped misalignment -- due to the peculiar temperature…
We report on a search for ultra-low-mass axion-like dark matter by analysing the ratio of the spin-precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and $^{199}$Hg atoms for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment of the neutron and an axion-wind spin-precession effect. No signal consistent with dark matter is observed for the axion mass range $10^{-24}~\textrm{eV} \le m_a \le 10^{-17}~\textrm{eV}$. Our null result sets the first laboratory constraints on the coupling of axion dark matter to gluons, which improve on astrophysical limits by up to 3 orders of magnitude, and also im…
We summarize recent studies of realistic nonsupersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) extended with a global $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry, so as to accommodate the axion solution to the strong CP problem. Aside from solving the CP problem and unifying the gauge structure of the SM, these models can also yield realistic spectra and mixings, including neutrino masses, and allowing for a consistent cosmological history that accounts for inflation, dark matter and baryogenesis. In our studies of $SO(10)$ and $SU(5)$ theories, we determined the mass and couplings of the axion in terms of the relevan…
A model of high scale inflation is presented where the radial part of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) field with a non-minimal coupling to gravity plays the role of the inflaton, and the QCD axion is the dark matter. A quantum fluctuation of $\mathcal{O}(H/2π)$ in the axion field will result in a smaller angular fluctuation if the PQ field is sitting at a larger radius during inflation than in the vacuum. This changes the effective axion decay constant, $f_a$, during inflation and dramatically reduces the production of isocurvature modes. This mechanism opens up a new window in parameter space where an …
1. Introduction 2. Models: the QCD axion; the strong CP problem; PQWW, KSVZ, DFSZ; anomalies, instantons and the potential; couplings; axions in string theory 3. Production and I.C.'s: SSB and non-perturbative physics; the axion field during inflation and PQ SSB; cosmological populations - decay of parent, topological defects, thermal production, vacuum realignment 4. The Cosmological Field: action; background evolution; misalignment for QCD axion and ALPs; cosmological perturbation theory - i.c.'s, early time treatment, axion sound speed and Jeans scale, transfer functions and WDM; the Schrod…
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a promising experimental approach to search for ultra-light axion-like dark matter. Searches such as the cosmic axion spin-precession experiments (CASPEr) are ultimately limited by quantum-mechanical noise sources, in particular, spin-projection noise. We discuss how such fundamental limits can potentially be reached. We consider a circuit model of a magnetic resonance experiment and quantify three noise sources: spin-projection noise, thermal noise, and amplifier noise. Calculation of the total noise spectrum takes into account the modification of the circuit imp…
We show that dark matter can be accounted for by an axion that solves the strong CP problem, but is much lighter than usual due to a $Z_\mathcal{N}$ symmetry. The whole mass range from the canonical QCD axion down to the ultra-light regime is allowed, with $3\le\mathcal{N}\lesssim65$. This includes the first proposal of a "fuzzy dark matter" QCD axion with $m_a\sim10^{-22}$ eV. A novel misalignment mechanism occurs --{\it trapped misalignment}-- due to the peculiar temperature dependence of the $Z_{\mathcal{N}}$ axion potential. The dark matter relic density is enhanced because the axion field…
We report the results of a search for axionlike dark matter using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. This search is part of the multi-faceted Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment (CASPEr) program. In order to distinguish axionlike dark matter from magnetic fields, we employ a comagnetometry scheme measuring ultralow-field NMR signals involving two different nuclei ($^{13}$C and $^{1}$H) in a liquid-state sample of acetonitrile-2-$^{13}$C ($^{13}$CH$_{3}$CN). No axionlike dark matter signal was detected above background. This result constrains the parameter space describing the cou…
We report on a search for ultra-low-mass axion-like dark matter by analysing the ratio of the spin-precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and $^{199}$Hg atoms for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment of the neutron and an axion-wind spin-precession effect. No signal consistent with dark matter is observed for the axion mass range $10^{-24}~\textrm{eV} \le m_a \le 10^{-17}~\textrm{eV}$. Our null result sets the first laboratory constraints on the coupling of axion dark matter to gluons, which improve on astrophysical limits by up to 3 orders of magnitude, and also im…
We propose new signals for the direct detection of ultralight dark matter such as the axion. Axion or axion like particle (ALP) dark matter may be thought of as a background, classical field. We consider couplings for this field which give rise to observable effects including a nuclear electric dipole moment, and axial nucleon and electron moments. These moments oscillate rapidly with frequencies accessible in the laboratory, ~ kHz to GHz, given by the dark matter mass. Thus, in contrast to WIMP detection, instead of searching for the hard scattering of a single dark matter particle, we are se…
Detecting the QCD axion via the ferroaxionic force with piezoelectric materials
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics（Perimeter理论物理研究所）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina（北卡罗来纳大学物理与天文学系）；Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University（西北大学物理与天文学系基础物理中心）；Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校卡弗里理论物理研究所）；Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University（纽约大学物理系宇宙学与粒子物理中心）；Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute（Flatiron研究所计算天体物理学中心）
We develop formalisms for a network of vector sensors, sensitive to certain spatial components of the signals, to identify the properties of a light axion or a dark photon background. These bosonic fields contribute to vector-like signals in the detectors, including effective magnetic fields triggering the spin precession, effective electric currents in a shielded room, and forces on the matter. The interplay between a pair of vector sensors and a baseline that separates them can potentially uncover rich information of the bosons, including angular distribution, polarization modes, source loca…
We propose using the storage ring EDM method to search for the axion dark matter induced EDM oscillation in nucleons. The method uses a combination of B and E-fields to produce a resonance between the $g-2$ spin precession frequency and the background axion field oscillation to greatly enhance sensitivity to it. An axion frequency range from $10^{-9}$ Hz to 100 MHz can in principle be scanned with high sensitivity, corresponding to an $f_a$ range of $10^{13} $ GeV $\leq f_a \leq 10^{30}$ GeV, the breakdown scale of the global symmetry generating the axion or axion like particles (ALPs).
We report a new limit on a possible short range spin-dependent interaction from the precise measurement of the ratio of Larmor precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and $^{199}$Hg atoms confined in the same volume. The measurement was performed in a $\sim$1$μ$ T vertical magnetic holding field with the apparatus searching for a permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron at the Paul Scherrer Institute. A possible coupling between freely precessing polarized neutron spins and unpolarized nucleons of the wall material can be investigated by searching for a tiny change of the pr…
Using a fundamental discrete symmetry, $\mathbb{Z}_N$, we construct a two-axion model with the QCD axion solving the strong-$CP$ problem, and an ultralight axion (ULA) with $m_{\rm ULA}\approx 10^{-22}\text{ eV}$ providing the dominant form of dark matter (DM). The ULA is light enough to be detectable in cosmology from its imprints on structure formation, and may resolve the small-scale problems of cold DM. The necessary relative DM abundances occur without fine tuning in constructions with decay constants $f_{\rm ULA}\sim 10^{17}\text{ GeV}$, and $f_{\rm QCD}\sim 10^{11}\text{ GeV}$. An examp…
Probing Axion Nucleon Coupling with Optomechanical Frequency Shift Measurements
Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交大物理与天文学院人工结构与量子控制教育部重点实验室）
Astrophysical observations indicate that there is roughly five times more dark matter in the Universe than ordinary baryonic matter, with an even larger amount of the Universe's energy content due to dark energy. So far, the microscopic properties of these dark components have remained shrouded in mystery. In addition, even the five percent of ordinary matter in our Universe has yet to be understood, since the Standard Model of particle physics lacks any consistent explanation for the predominance of matter over antimatter. Inspired by these central problems of modern physics, we present here …
High Precision Fundamental Physics Experiments at JLab with Spin-transparent Storage Rings of Low-energy Polarized Electron Beams
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility（托马斯·杰斐逊国家加速器设施）；Mississippi State University（密西西比州立大学）；Brookhaven National Laboratory（布鲁克海文国家实验室）；CERN（欧洲核子研究组织）；Christopher Newport University（克里斯托弗纽波特大学）；Duke University（杜克大学）；Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Michigan State University（密歇根州立大学稀有同位束设施）；Michigan State University（密歇根州立大学）；Universidade Federal do Maranhão（马拉尼昂联邦大学）；Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul（南里奥格兰德联邦大学）；Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro（米纳斯吉拉斯三角区联邦大学）；Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati（古瓦哈提印度理工学院）；Istituto Nazionale Fisica Nucleare - Sezione di Genova（意大利国家核物理研究所热那亚分部）；Università degli Studi di Genova（热那亚大学）；Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leibniz Universität, Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学理论物理研究所）；Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树岭国家实验室）
We show that proton storage ring experiments designed to search for proton electric dipole moments can also be used to look for the nearly dc spin precession induced by dark energy and ultra-light dark matter. These experiments are sensitive to both axion-like and vector fields. Current technology permits probes of these phenomena up to three orders of magnitude beyond astrophysical limits. The relativistic boost of the protons in these rings allows this scheme to have sensitivities comparable to atomic co-magnetometer experiments that can also probe similar phenomena. These complementary appr…
