Detecting domain walls of axionlike models using terrestrial experiments

Area of Science:

• Cosmology
• Particle Physics
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Stable topological defects from scalar fields may constitute dark energy and dark matter.
• Current constraints on these defects primarily come from gravitational and cosmological observations.
• Axionlike fields with spin couplings offer a specific model for generating domain walls.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of detecting domain walls generated by axionlike fields in galactic environments.
• To explore the potential of terrestrial experiments for probing unconstrained model parameters.
• To demonstrate the role of atomic magnetometers in detecting wall-crossing events.

Main Methods:

• Modeling domain walls formed by an axionlike field coupled to standard-model particle spins.
• Simulating the presence of a network of domain walls within the galactic environment.
• Proposing the use of a geographically separated, time-synchronized network of atomic magnetometers for detection.

Main Results:

• Terrestrial detection of wall-crossing events is shown to be realistic under specific galactic conditions.
• Atomic magnetometer networks can effectively detect these wall-crossing events.
• The proposed method can probe model parameters not currently constrained by astrophysical or gravitational experiments.

Conclusions:

• Terrestrial experiments offer a novel and realistic approach to detect topological defects.
• Atomic magnetometer networks provide a sensitive tool for exploring dark energy and dark matter candidates.
• This research opens new avenues for constraining axionlike field models and understanding the Universe's composition.