Abstract
We propose using interferometry of circularly polarized light as a mechanism by which to test for axion dark matter. These interferometers differ from standard interferometers only by the addition of a few quarter waveplates to preserve the polarization of light upon reflection. We show that using current technology, interferometers can probe new regions of axion parameter space up to a couple orders of magnitude beyond current constraints.
Highlights
One of the leading candidates for dark matter (DM) is a light pseudoscalar derivatively coupled to the Standard Model (SM)
We calculate the reach of an axion interferometer assuming that noise from the wave plates has been mitigated such that we are at the standard quantum limit (SQL) as is the case in LIGO and the Holometer for a range of frequencies
We proposed an interferometer-based search strategy for axionlike particles (ALPs) dark matter
Summary
One of the leading candidates for dark matter (DM) is a light pseudoscalar derivatively coupled to the Standard Model (SM). In the presence of ALP dark matter, the coupling shown in Eq (1) generates new terms in Maxwell’s equations. Substituting a plane-wave solution yields a modified dispersion relation: This is just the well-known effect that the presence of ALP dark matter causes a difference in phase velocity between right and left circularly polarized light. This effect is often equivalently stated as the fact that a background axion field causes the polarization angle of linearly polarized light to slowly rotate. It follows that the phase velocity of left and right polarized light is vphase. Axion DM would produce a difference in phase velocity between the two arms, generating an interference pattern
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