Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2019
Volume 64, Number 3
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2019; Denver, Colorado
Session X14: Axion I |
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Sponsoring Units: DPF Chair: Danielle H Speller, Yale University Room: Sheraton Plaza Court 3 |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 10:45AM - 10:57AM |
X14.00001: Construction and Commissioning of the ABRACADABRA-10\,cm Prototype: Lessons for Future Experiments Jonathan Ouellet The evidence for the existence of Dark Matter is well supported by many cosmological observations. Separately, long standing problems within the Standard Model point to new weakly interacting particles to help explain away unnatural fine-tunings. The axion was originally proposed to explain the Strong-CP problem, but was subsequently shown to be a strong candidate for explaining the Dark Matter abundance of the Universe. ABRACADABRA is an experimental program to search for ultralight axion Dark Matter, with a focus on the mass range $10^{-14} \lesssim m_a \lesssim 10^{-6}$\,eV. We search for these axions and other axion like particles (ALPs) through a modification to Maxwell's equations, which cause strong magnetic fields to source weak oscillating electrical currents parallel to the field. In this talk, I will describe the construction and commissioning of the ABRACADABRA-10\,cm prototype, which released first results last October. I will summarize the important lessons learned and their application towards a future meter scale version of the detector which seeks to be some 9 orders of magnitude more sensitive. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 10:57AM - 11:09AM |
X14.00002: COMSOL Simulations for ABRACADABRA Chiara P Salemi The presence of dark matter provides some of the most tangible evidence for the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model. One compelling dark matter candidate is the axion, a light boson that was originally postulated as a solution to another outstanding issue, the strong CP problem in QCD. ABRACADABRA is an experimental program to search for sub-$\mu$eV axion and axion-like dark matter. It searches for axion-induced modifications to Maxwell’s equations with a toroidal magnet and SQUID magnetometer. This talk will present COMSOL simulations made to test aspects of the prototype detector, ABRACADABRA-10cm, and to prepare for a future, full-size detector, ABRACADABRA-1m. These simulations include R&D for different detector geometries as well as measurements of the detectors’ geometric factors and readout inductances. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 11:09AM - 11:21AM |
X14.00003: Indirect Detection of Axion Dark Matter with Radio Signals from Neutron Stars Zhiquan Sun, Ben R. Safdi, Yonatan Khan, Anson Hook, Alexander Y. Chen Axions are one of the best-motivated dark matter particle candidates and are able to solve the strong CP problem. In the presence of magnetic fields, axions can resonantly convert to observable photons, making the strong magnetic field within neutron star magnetospheres a natural channel for axion indirect detection. By solving the axion-photon mixing equations and modeling neutron star populations, we calculate the expected radio signal flux due to conversion from several astrophysical targets. Focusing on the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, the globular cluster M54 in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, and the Andromeda galaxy, we show that narrow-band radio observations with telescopes such as the Green Bank Telescope and the future Square Kilometer Array will be able to probe the axion parameter space over roughly two orders of magnitude in mass, starting at a fraction of a μeV. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 11:21AM - 11:33AM |
X14.00004: A Statistical Framework for Axion Direct Detection and its Application to ABRACADABRA-10cm and Beyond Joshua W Foster Axions, which can simultaneously solve the Strong CP problem and serve as the dark matter, are a well-motivated feature of BSM physics, and the ABRACADABRA collaboration has recently produced the most sensitive lab-based constraints on axion dark matter at masses below $1 \, \mu \mathrm{eV}$ with the prototype ABRACADABRA-10cm detector. This talk will review an analysis framework for axion direct detection and its application that shows ABRACADABRA-10cm operates with theoretically expected detection sensitivity and results in statistically rigorous limits, with highly positive implications for future large-scale versions of the detector. I will also briefly comment on the framework's application at other experiments, and its necessity and utility as a number of developing experimental efforts begin to target the largely unconstrained axion parameter space. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 11:33AM - 11:45AM |
X14.00005: A maximally informative axion haloscope analysis Daniel A Palken, Konrad Lehnert Axion haloscopes attempt to infer the presence or absence of dark matter axion-induced fluctuations in the electromagnetic field. The statistical analysis of the haloscope data should make as efficient use as possible of its information content, while remaining robust against bias and practical non-idealities of the measurement. We present a Bayesian analysis framework that exploits all of the information available from haloscope search data and allows freedom to alter scan procedures in light of measured data. Performing a reanalysis of the Phase I data from the HAYSTAC experiment, we more tightly constrain the dark matter axion parameter space, achieving the equivalent of a 39% speedup in the axion scan rate. By switching from the presently used threshold-based analysis framework to one that continuously monitors the measured power, haloscopes can achieve significant improvements in measurement ease and speed for no additional hardware or operating cost. I will discuss the details of the analysis technique and the implications for HAYSTAC and other haloscope-based axion dark matter searches. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 11:45AM - 11:57AM |
X14.00006: New Ideas in Axion Detection: Leveraging Axion Electrodynamics Zachary Bogorad The Strong CP problem is a fine tuning problem with the Standard Model reflecting the unexplained absence of observed CP violation in the strong sector. One proposed solution to this problem is the introduction of an additional spontaneously broken U(1) symmetry, which results in a new particle: the axion. The axion is also of interest as a potential constituent of cold dark matter. The existence of axions would lead to modifications of Maxwell's equations. Experiments to detect axions using axion-induced radiation (ADMX/HAYSTAC, MADMAX) or magnetic field oscillations (ABRACADABRA) are already operational, and in recent years there has been discussion of detecting axion-induced electric field oscillations. In this talk, I will present theoretical limitations on the ability of magnetostatic experiments to detect induced electric fields from axions with large Compton wavelength. I will also describe a possible new approach to detecting axions using superconducting RF cavities. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 11:57AM - 12:09PM |
X14.00007: Search for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment for electrons using atomic magnetometers Pinghan Chu, Young Jin Kim, Igor M Savukov We propose an experimental search for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment (OEDM) for electrons using state-of-the-art atomic magnetometers. The axion is a hypothesized new fundamental particle which can resolve the strong charge-parity problem and be a prominent dark matter candidate. This experiment utilizes optically polarized electron spins in an alkali-metal vapor cell of atomic magnetometers. The interaction of the axion field, oscillating at a frequency equal to the axion mass, with a magnetic dipole moment induces a sizable OEDM of electrons at the same frequency as the axion field. The OEDM interacts with an electric field, which results in an effective oscillating magnetic signal when the atomic vapor cell is subjected to a strong electric field. The resulting magnetic signal can be sensitively detected with a probe beam of the atomic magnetometer. We estimate that the experiment is sensitive to the axion-photon interaction in ultra-light axion mass ranges from 1e-15 to 1e-10 eV and push down the current experimental limit up to 5 orders of magnitude, exploring new axion parameter spaces. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 12:09PM - 12:21PM |
X14.00008: Spin-Dependent Macroscopic Force Search Using 1 kHz Mechanical Oscillators Caleb D Hughes, Joshua C Long Physics beyond the Standard Model arises in many attempts to unify General Relativity and quantum mechanics. Phenomena include macroscopic forces of nature beyond gravity and electromagnetism. A review describes sixteen possible potentials for such forces in the limit of non-relativistic single boson exchange, fifteen of which depend on the intrinsic spin of the interacting fermions. We describe an experimental search with sensitivity to all sixteen potentials in the sub-millimeter range, using planar resonant test masses with operational frequencies near 1 kHz. The test masses have been augmented with a rare-earth iron garnet, a polarized material which exhibits orbital compensation of the magnetism associated with the electron spins, substantially reducing the magnetic backgrounds. We review the progress of the apparatus developed to make optimal use of the garnet, including cooling and calibration systems, and discuss the experimental sensitivity. |
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 12:21PM - 12:33PM |
X14.00009: Invisible axion running through the QCD phase transition Jihn E. Kim, Jihn E. Kim The invisible axion rolling through the QCD phase transition is discussed. |
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