Search for Dark Matter Using Levitated Nanoparticles Within a Bessel-Gaussian Beam via Yukawa Coupling

Area of Science:

• Experimental Physics
• Particle Physics
• Astrophysics

Background:

• Dark matter remains undetected, necessitating novel detection strategies.
• Yukawa interactions, or fifth forces, are theoretical extensions to the Standard Model.
• Direct detection experiments face challenges in sensitivity and background noise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel experimental approach for dark matter detection.
• To probe Yukawa interactions between dark matter and baryonic matter.
• To enhance sensitivity to minute forces using advanced optical trapping techniques.

Main Methods:

• Optically levitating nanoparticles within a Bessel-Gaussian beam.
• Utilizing the non-diffracting properties of Bessel-Gaussian beams for stable trapping.
• Employing feedback cooling techniques to enhance nanoparticle motion sensitivity.
• Achieving force detection sensitivity on the order of 10-18 N.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a novel experimental setup for detecting weak forces.
• Explored the parameter space of Yukawa interactions, including coupling strength (α) and range (λ).
• Achieved high precision in controlling nanoparticle trapping conditions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method offers a promising new avenue for dark matter detection.
• This experiment has the potential to place novel constraints on dark matter couplings.
• The technique complements existing direct detection experiments, expanding the search for dark matter.