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Atom Interferometer Tests of Dark Matter

Du, Yufeng and Murgui, Clara and Pardo, Kris and Wang, Yikun and Zurek, Kathryn M. (2022) Atom Interferometer Tests of Dark Matter. . (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220707-204122110

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Abstract

Direct detection experiments for dark matter are increasingly ruling out large parameter spaces. However, light dark matter models with particle masses < GeV are still largely unconstrained. Here we examine a proposal to use atom interferometers to detect a light dark matter subcomponent at sub-GeV masses. We describe the decoherence and phase shifts caused by dark matter scattering off of one "arm" of an atom interferometer using a generalized dark matter direct detection framework. This allows us to consider multiple channels: nuclear recoils, hidden photon processes, and axion interactions. We apply this framework to several proposed atom interferometer experiments. Because atom interferometers are sensitive to extremely low momentum deposition and their coherent atoms give them a boost in sensitivity, these experiments will be highly competitive and complementary to other direct detection methods. In particular, atom interferometers are uniquely able to probe a dark matter sub-component with mχ ≲ 10 keV. We find that, for a mediator mass m_ϕ = 10⁻¹⁰ mχ, future atom interferometers could close a gap in the existing constraints on nuclear recoils down to σ̅ₙ ∼ 10⁻⁵⁰ cm² for mχ∼10⁻⁵−10⁻¹ MeV dark matter masses.


Item Type:Report or Paper (Discussion Paper)
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2205.13546arXivDiscussion Paper
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Du, Yufeng0000-0003-0510-5170
Murgui, Clara0000-0002-7087-4796
Pardo, Kris0000-0002-9910-6782
Zurek, Kathryn M.0000-0002-2629-337X
Additional Information:Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) The authors would like to thank Sheng-wey Chiow, Curt Cutler, Marianna Safronova, and Tanner Trickle for useful discussions. Part of this work was done at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The work of KZ is supported by the DoE under contract DE-SC0011632, and by a Simons Investigator award. This work is also supported by the Walker Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics. Software: astropy [93], matplotlib [94], numpy [95], PhonoDark [96], scipy [97]
Group:Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
NASA/JPL/CaltechUNSPECIFIED
Department of Energy (DOE)DE-SC0011632
Simons FoundationUNSPECIFIED
Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, CaltechUNSPECIFIED
Other Numbering System:
Other Numbering System NameOther Numbering System ID
CALT-TH2022-011
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20220707-204122110
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220707-204122110
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:115411
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: George Porter
Deposited On:08 Jul 2022 22:19
Last Modified:08 Jul 2022 22:19

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