28 research outputs found
Searches for New Particles Including Dark Matter with Atomic, Molecular and Optical Systems
New particles can manifest their effects in many settings, ranging from
effects on sub-atomic to galactic length scales. The nature of these effects
depends on the specific particles and their non-gravitational interactions. In
this chapter, we give a brief overview of how atomic, molecular and optical
systems can be used to search for new particles. To illustrate the basic
principles behind these methods, we focus on the simplest class of particles,
namely new spinless bosons.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Invited chapter for the book `Springer Handbook
of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics', edited by Gordon W. F. Drake,
Springer, 201
Searching for ultralight scalar dark matter with muonium and muonic atoms
Ultralight scalar dark matter may induce apparent oscillations of the muon
mass, which may be directly probed via temporal shifts in the spectra of
muonium and muonic atoms. Existing datasets and ongoing spectroscopy
measurements with muonium are capable of probing scalar-muon interactions that
are up to 12 orders of magnitude more stringent than astrophysical bounds.
Ongoing free-fall experiments with muonium can probe forces associated with the
exchange of virtual ultralight scalar bosons between muons and standard-model
particles, offering up to 5 orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity over
complementary laboratory and astrophysical bounds.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, version accepted for publication in PR
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
Searching for axion dark matter in atoms: oscillating electric dipole moments and spin-precession effects
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
Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map
We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.publishedVersio