Abstract
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for detection of a light scalar dark matter (DM) field through probing temporal oscillations of fundamental constants in an atomic optical transition. Utilizing the quantum information notion of dynamic decoupling (DD) in a tabletop setting, we are able to obtain model-independent bounds on variations of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and ${m}_{e}$ at frequencies up to the MHz scale. We interpret our results to constrain the parameter space of light scalar DM field models. We consider the generic case, where the couplings of the DM field to the photon and the electron are independent, as well as the case of a relaxion DM model, including the scenario of a DM boson star centered around Earth. Given the particular nature of DD, allowing one to directly observe the oscillatory behavior of coherent DM and considering future experimental improvements, we conclude that our proposed method could be complimentary to, and possibly competitive with, gravitational probes of light scalar DM.
Highlights
The missing mass problem is one of the most fundamental questions in modern physics [1]
We have proposed a new experimental probe of light scalar dark matter (DM), utilizing the method of dynamic decoupling (DD) in a tabletop setting
We have interpreted the results for the case of relaxion DM, for which, our constraints are significantly tightened
Summary
The missing mass problem is one of the most fundamental questions in modern physics [1]. Particle dark matter (DM) at the electroweak scale is a highly motivated solution [2], no discovery of such DM was made to date [3,4,5] Another intriguing possibility is that of a sub-eV scalar DM field, coherently oscillating to account for the observed DM density (e.g., [6,7,8]). We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method probing this DM signature in an atomic optical transition at a bandwidth ranging from a few Hz to the MHz range This range, corresponding to a light scalar DM field which is coherently oscillating at these frequencies, has been a blind spot for current experimental measurements of time variations of fundamental constants (e.g., [15,16,17]), despite being theoretically motivated (e.g., [7,18]). In order to amplify the desired signal while mitigating undesired noise, we propose to use DD [19]
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