Collaborative Research: Novel Cavity Haloscopes for Axion Dark Matter at CM-Wavelengths

合作研究：CM 波长下轴子暗物质的新型腔光镜

• 批准号: 2208847
• 负责人: Gray Rybka
• 金额: $ 19万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2208847&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Novel; Cavity; Haloscopes

Astronomical observations have established that the Universe is primarily “dark” with approximately 85% of the matter made of yet unknown particles. Uncovering the nature of this dark matter will have far reaching consequences in cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics. The quantum chromodynamic (QCD) axion arises in an extension of the Standard Model of particle physics that would simultaneously solve the mystery of dark matter and the long-standing strong charge-parity problem. This award supports researchers at Stanford University and the University of Washington in the development of a novel axion detector called a haloscope that will improve the scan rate of axion dark matter experiments by more than three orders of magnitude at frequencies between 4 – 7 GHz. The awarded activities include outreach and education via a Summer Research Program for Teachers, and a mentorship program for graduate students in the training of undergraduate researchers. Above frequencies of approximately 4 GHz , corresponding to an axion particle mass of a few tens of micro-electronvolts, there exists a large sensitivity gap between current measurements and the theoretical benchmarks. Improving the scan rate at these frequencies is crucial to enhancing the reach of axion search experiments. The large gain of the new haloscope design is achieved by implementing a space-filling thin-shell cavity that decouples the resonator’s volume from its resonant frequency. A full-sized science-grade cavity will be fabricated and installed in an existing 250mK testbed to demonstrate tunability and high quality factor under cryogenic conditions. The cavities will also be integrated with a Josephson Junction-based amplifier and a digitizer to obtain new exclusion limits on searches for dark photons. These developments establish key preparations for future axion searches involving large-volume solenoid magnet systems like those currently utilized for the ADMX project.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

天文学观测表明，宇宙主要是“暗”的，其中大约 85% 的物质是由未知粒子组成的。揭示这种暗物质的本质将对宇宙学、天体物理学和粒子物理学产生深远的影响。 ）轴子是粒子物理学标准模型的扩展，它将同时解决暗物质之谜和长期存在的强电荷宇称问题。该奖项支持斯坦福大学和华盛顿大学的研究人员。参与开发一种称为光晕仪的新型轴子探测器，该探测器将在 4 – 7 GHz 频率范围内将轴子暗物质实验的扫描速率提高三个数量级以上。获奖活动包括通过夏季研究计划进行的推广和教育。教师和本科生研究人员培训中的研究生导师计划 在大约 4 GHz 的频率以上，对应于几十微电子伏的轴子粒子质量，电流测量和实际测量之间存在很大的灵敏度差距。提高这些频率下的扫描速率对于提高轴子搜索实验的范围至关重要，新光晕镜设计的大增益是通过实现空间填充薄壳腔来实现的，该腔将谐振器的体积与其谐振频率解耦。一个全尺寸的科学级腔体将被制造并安装在现有的 250mK 测试台上，以展示低温条件下的可调谐性和高质量因子。这些腔体还将与约瑟夫森集成。基于结的放大器和数字转换器，以获得暗光子搜索的新排除限制。这些进展为未来涉及大容量螺线管磁体系统（例如目前用于 ADMX 项目的系统）的轴子搜索奠定了关键的准备。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命和目标。通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，该项目被认为值得支持。