Probing low-mass vector bosons with parity nonconservation and nuclear anapole moment measurements in atoms and molecules

In the presence of P-violating interactions, the exchange of vector bosons between electrons and nucleons induces parity-nonconserving (PNC) effects in atoms and molecules, while the exchange of vector bosons between nucleons induces anapole moments of nuclei. We perform calculations of such vector-mediated PNC effects in Cs, Ba$^+$, Yb, Tl, Fr and Ra$^+$ using the same relativistic many-body approaches as in earlier calculations of standard-model PNC effects, but with the long-range operator of the weak interaction. We calculate nuclear anapole moments due to vector boson exchange using a simple nuclear model. From measured and predicted (within the standard model) values for the PNC amplitudes in Cs, Yb and Tl, as well as the nuclear anapole moment of $^{133}$Cs, we constrain the P-violating vector-pseudovector nucleon-electron and nucleon-proton interactions mediated by a generic vector boson of arbitrary mass. Our limits improve on existing bounds from other experiments by many orders of magnitude over a very large range of vector-boson masses.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Probing low-mass vector bosons with parity nonconservation and nuclear anapole moment measurements in atoms and molecules

In the presence of P-violating interactions, the exchange of vector bosons between electrons and nucleons induces parity-nonconserving (PNC) effects in atoms and molecules, while the exchange of vector bosons between nucleons induces anapole moments of nuclei. We perform calculations of such vector-mediated PNC effects in Cs, Ba$^+$, Yb, Tl, Fr and Ra$^+$ using the same relativistic many-body approaches as in earlier calculations of standard-model PNC effects, but with the long-range operator of the weak interaction. We calculate nuclear anapole moments due to vector boson exchange using a simple nuclear model. From measured and predicted (within the standard model) values for the PNC amplitudes in Cs, Yb and Tl, as well as the nuclear anapole moment of $^{133}$Cs, we constrain the P-violating vector-pseudovector nucleon-electron and nucleon-proton interactions mediated by a generic vector boson of arbitrary mass. Our limits improve on existing bounds from other experiments by many orders of magnitude over a very large range of vector-boson masses.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Searching for Scalar Dark Matter in Atoms and Astrophysical Phenomena: Variation of Fundamental Constants

We propose to search for scalar dark matter via its effects on the electromagnetic fine-structure constant and particle masses. Scalar dark matter that forms an oscillating classical field produces `slow' linear-in-time drifts and oscillating variations of the fundamental constants, while scalar dark matter that forms topological defects produces transient-in-time variations of the constants of Nature. These variations can be sought for with atomic clock, laser interferometer and pulsar timing measurements. Atomic spectroscopy and Big Bang nucleosynthesis measurements already give improved bounds on the quadratic interaction parameters of scalar dark matter with the photon, electron, and light quarks by up to 15 orders of magnitude, while Big Bang nucleosynthesis measurements provide the first such constraints on the interaction parameters of scalar dark matter with the massive vector bosons.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Contributed to the 11th Patras Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs, Zaragoza, June 22 to 26, 201

Search for the effect of massive bodies on atomic spectra and constraints on Yukawa-type interactions of scalar particles

We propose a new method to search for hypothetical scalar particles that have feeble interactions with Standard-Model particles. In the presence of massive bodies, these interactions produce a non-zero Yukawa-type scalar-field magnitude. Using radio-frequency spectroscopy data of atomic dysprosium, as well as atomic clock spectroscopy data, we constrain the Yukawa-type interactions of a scalar field with the photon, electron, and nucleons for a range of scalar-particle masses corresponding to length scales $> 10$ cm. In the limit as the scalar-particle mass $m_\phi \to 0$, our derived limits on the Yukawa-type interaction parameters are: $\Lambda_\gamma \gtrsim 8 \times 10^{19}$ GeV, $\Lambda_e \gtrsim 1.3 \times 10^{19}$ GeV, and $\Lambda_N \gtrsim 6 \times 10^{20}$ GeV. Our measurements also constrain combinations of interaction parameters, which cannot otherwise be probed with traditional anomalous-force measurements. We suggest further measurements to improve on the current level of sensitivity.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Violation of the equivalence principle from light scalar fields: from Dark Matter candidates to scalarized black holes

Tensor-scalar theory is a wide class of alternative theory of gravitation that can be motivated by higher dimensional theories, by models of dark matter or dark ernergy. In the general case, the scalar field will couple non-universally to matter producing a violation of the equivalence principle. In this communication, we review a microscopic model of scalar/matter coupling and its observable consequences in terms of universality of free fall, of frequencies comparison and of redshifts tests. We then focus on two models: (i) a model of ultralight scalar dark matter and (ii) a model of scalarized black hole in our Galactic Center. For both these models, we present constraints using recent measurements: atomic clocks comparisons, universality of free fall measurements, measurement of the relativistic redshift with the short period star S0-2 orbiting the supermassive black hole in our Galactic Center.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, contribution to the 2019 Gravitation session of the 54th Rencontres de Morion

Dark matter scattering on electrons: Accurate calculations of atomic excitations and implications for the DAMA signal

We revisit the WIMP-type dark matter scattering on electrons that results in atomic ionization, and can manifest itself in a variety of existing direct-detection experiments. Unlike the WIMP-nucleon scattering, where current experiments probe typical interaction strengths much smaller than the Fermi constant, the scattering on electrons requires a much stronger interaction to be detectable, which in turn requires new light force carriers. We account for such new forces explicitly, by introducing a mediator particle with scalar or vector couplings to dark matter and to electrons. We then perform state of the art numerical calculations of atomic ionization relevant to the existing experiments. Our goals are to consistently take into account the atomic physics aspect of the problem (e.g., the relativistic effects, which can be quite significant), and to scan the parameter space: the dark matter mass, the mediator mass, and the effective coupling strength, to see if there is any part of the parameter space that could potentially explain the DAMA modulation signal. While we find that the modulation fraction of all events with energy deposition above 2 keV in NaI can be quite significant, reaching ~50%, the relevant parts of the parameter space are excluded by the XENON10 and XENON100 experiments

Limiting P-odd interactions of cosmic fields with electrons, protons and neutrons

We propose methods for extracting limits on the strength of P-odd interactions of pseudoscalar and pseudovector cosmic fields with electrons, protons and neutrons. Candidates for such fields are dark matter (including axions) and dark energy, as well as several more exotic sources described by standard-model extensions. Calculations of parity nonconserving amplitudes and atomic electric dipole moments induced by these fields are performed for H, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Ba+, Tl, Dy, Fr, and Ra+. From these calculations and existing measurements in Dy, Cs and Tl, we constrain the interaction strengths of the parity-violating static pseudovector cosmic field to be 7*10^(-15) GeV with an electron, and 3*10^(-8) GeV with a proton.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur