Ultralight Dark Matter Search with Space-Time Separated Atomic Clocks and Cavities

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in physics.
• Current detection methods often rely on local interactions, missing potential signals from oscillating dark matter fields.
• Ultralight dark matter candidates require novel detection strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a novel method for detecting nongravitational couplings of ultralight dark matter (UDM).
• To search for UDM interactions with standard model particles using space-time separated sensors.
• To constrain the coupling of scalar dark matter to electrons (d_me) in a previously unexplored mass range.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing space-time separated atomic clocks and cavity-stabilized lasers as sensors.
• Probing different values of an oscillating dark matter field by separating sensors in space and time.
• Analyzing existing data from a fiber-linked laser frequency comparison and Global Positioning System (GPS) atomic clocks.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated a method sensitive to temporal and spatial fluctuations of the dark matter field.
• Derived the first constraints on the coupling of scalar dark matter to electrons (d_me) alone.
• Established constraints for dark matter masses between 10^-19 and 2x10^-15 eV/c^2.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method is effective for searching for nongravitational UDM couplings.
• This work opens new avenues for UDM detection by exploiting space-time separated sensors.
• The derived constraints significantly advance our understanding of UDM properties and interactions.