We consider the use of quantum-limited mechanical force sensors to detect ultralight (sub-meV) dark matter candidates which are weakly coupled to the standard model. We show that mechanical sensors with masses around or below the milligram scale, operating around the standard quantum limit, would enable novel searches for dark matter with natural frequencies around the kHz scale. This would complement existing strategies based on torsion balances, atom interferometers, and atomic clock systems.
Searching for Ultralight Dark Matter with MOLeQuTE: a Massive Optically Levitated Quantum Tabletop Experiment
INFN Naples（意大利国家核物理研究所那不勒斯分部）；Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz（美因茨约翰内斯·古腾堡大学物理研究所）；DAMTP, Cambridge University（剑桥大学应用数学与理论物理系）；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）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London（伦敦大学学院物理与天文学系）；Center for Fundamental Physics and Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University（西北大学物理与天文学系基础物理中心及天体物理学跨学科探索研究中心）
SpaceQ -- Direct Detection of Ultralight Dark Matter with Space Quantum Sensors
University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校）；Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室）；University of Chicago（芝加哥大学）；The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；University of Delaware（特拉华大学）；National Institute of Standards and Technology（美国国家标准与技术研究院）；University of Maryland（马里兰大学）
Scalar-Magnetometer Search for Ultralight Dark Photon Dark Matter with a Single-Site, Two-Sensor Array: A 6-Channel DTFT Likelihood Analysis with Scalar Optically Pumped Magnetometers
Muonium Spectroscopy as a Quantum Sensor for Ultralight Axion Dark Matter
Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory（先进能源科学技术广东省实验室）；Institute of Modern Physics, CAS（中国科学院近代物理研究所）；Tsung-Dao Lee Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交大李政道研究所与物理天文学院）；University of Liverpool（利物浦大学）；Department of Physics, Jinan University（暨南大学物理系）；State Key Laboratory of Heavy Ion Science and Technology, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院近代物理研究所重离子科学和技术国家重点实验室）；School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学核科学与技术学院）
The applications of spin-based quantum sensors to measurements probing fundamental physics are surveyed. Experimental methods and technologies developed for quantum information science have rapidly advanced in recent years, and these tools enable increasingly precise control and measurement of spin dynamics. Theories of beyond-the-Standard-Model physics predict, for example, symmetry violating electromagnetic moments aligned with particle spins, exotic spin-dependent forces, coupling of spins to ultralight bosonic dark matter fields, and changes to the local environment that affect spins. Spin…
The development of quantum optomechanics now allows mechanical sensors with femtogram masses to be controlled and measured in the quantum regime. If the mechanical element contains isotopes that undergo nuclear decay, measuring the recoil of the sensor following the decay allows reconstruction of the total momentum of all emitted particles, including any neutral particles that may escape detection in traditional detectors. As an example, for weak nuclear decays the momentum of the emitted neutrino can be reconstructed on an event-by-event basis. We present the concept that a single nanometer-s…
We explore the viability of laboratory-scale mechanical resonators as detectors for ultralight scalar dark matter. The signal we investigate is an atomic strain due to modulation of the fine structure constant and the lepton mass at the Compton frequency of dark matter particles. The resulting stress can drive an elastic body with acoustic breathing modes, producing displacements that are accessible with opto- or electromechanical readout techniques. To address the unknown mass of dark matter particles (which determines their Compton frequency), we consider various resonator designs operating …
The last decade has seen unprecedented effort in dark matter model building at all mass scales coupled with the design of numerous new detection strategies. Transformative advances in quantum technologies have led to a plethora of new high-precision quantum sensors and dark matter detection strategies for ultralight ($<10\,$eV) bosonic dark matter that can be described by an oscillating classical, largely coherent field. This white paper focuses on searches for wavelike scalar and vector dark matter candidates.
We show that gravitational wave detectors based on a type of atom interferometry are sensitive to ultralight scalar dark matter. Such dark matter can cause temporal oscillations in fundamental constants with a frequency set by the dark matter mass, and amplitude determined by the local dark matter density. The result is a modulation of atomic transition energies. This signal is ideally suited to a type of gravitational wave detector that compares two spatially separated atom interferometers referenced by a common laser. Such a detector can improve on current searches for electron-mass or elect…
Ultralight axion-like particles (ALPs) are well-motivated dark matter candidates introduced by theories beyond the standard model. However, the constraints on the existence of ALPs through existing laboratory experiments are hindered by their current sensitivities, which are usually weaker than astrophysical limits. Here, we demonstrate a new quantum sensor to search for ALPs in the mass range that spans about two decades from 8.3 feV to 744 feV. Our sensor makes use of hyperpolarized long-lived nuclear spins as a pre-amplifier that effectively enhances coherently oscillating axion-like dark-m…
