Abstract
The detection of ultralight dark matter through interactions with nucleons, electrons, and photons has been explored in depth. In this work we propose to use precision muon experiments, specifically muon g-2 and electric dipole moment measurements, to detect ultralight dark matter that couples predominantly to muons. We set direct, terrestrial limits on DM-muon interactions using existing g-2 data, and show that a time-resolved reanalysis of ongoing and upcoming precession experiments will be sensitive to dark matter signals. Intriguingly, we also find that the current muon g-2 anomaly can be explained by a spin torque applied to muons from a pseudoscalar dark matter background that induces an oscillating electric dipole moment for the muon. This explanation may be verified by a time-resolved reanalysis.
Highlights
Despite the presence of dark matter (DM) and its gravitational interactions being well established, its particle nature and nongravitational interactions with the standard model (SM) are yet to be illuminated
We have shown that experiments designed to measure the muon g-2 and electric dipole moment (EDM) are uniquely sensitive to DM models that interact predominantly with muons
DMinduced variations in the properties of muons and DMapplied spin torques and forces on muons leads to time-dependent variations in the muon precession frequencies which are measured in these experiments
Summary
Despite the presence of dark matter (DM) and its gravitational interactions being well established, its particle nature and nongravitational interactions with the standard model (SM) are yet to be illuminated. Traditional direct detection experiments targeting the WIMP scale are not sensitive to ultralight DM, so a plethora of experiments have been performed and proposed in recent years exploiting the wavelike properties of this mass regime These have exclusively tested dark matter couplings to photons, electrons, and nucleons [11,12,13,14,15]. A coherent dark matter background may couple to muons in these experiments and alter their precession by applying a spin torque and by possibly altering their orbital trajectories. Some candidates may leave the form of the signal unchanged while shifting the precession frequency or amplitude This is intriguing, as it provides an effective contribution to the anomalous muon MDM or the muon EDM which is set by the local DM density.
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