Search for Dark-Matter-Induced Oscillations of Fundamental Constants Using Molecular Spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Cosmology and Particle Physics
• Experimental Physics

Background:

• Ultralight dark matter may interact with the Standard Model, potentially causing fundamental constant oscillations.
• Previous experimental constraints on these interactions exist but have gaps in certain frequency ranges.

Purpose of the Study:

• Establish direct experimental bounds on the coupling of oscillating ultralight dark matter to up, down, and strange quarks, and to gluons.
• Explore previously unconstrained frequency bands for these dark matter interactions.
• Improve existing bounds for dark matter coupling to the electromagnetic field and electron field.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-precision spectroscopic experiments.
• Leveraged the dependence of molecular transition frequencies on nuclear masses to probe dark matter interactions.
• Covered oscillation frequencies from 10 Hz to 10^8 Hz.

Main Results:

• Established direct experimental bounds on ultralight dark matter coupling to quarks (up, down, strange) and gluons.
• Achieved significant improvements on existing bounds for frequencies above 5 MHz.
• Enhanced constraints on coupling to the electromagnetic field and electron field in specific spectral windows.

Conclusions:

• The study provides the most stringent limits in previously unexplored frequency bands for ultralight dark matter interactions.
• Next-generation experiments of this type may challenge current bounds derived from equivalence principle tests.
• Identified a specific parameter space where future experiments can significantly advance our understanding of dark matter.