NSF-BSF: Development of High-Precision Atomic Methods and Dark Matter Searches

NSF-BSF：高精度原子方法和暗物质搜索的发展

• 批准号: 2309254
• 负责人: Marianna Safronova
• 金额: $ 41.2万
• 依托单位: University of Delaware
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2309254&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; BSF; Development; Precision; Atomic

Plentiful observational data on galactic and larger scales cannot be explained based on the observed matter content in the framework of “normal gravity.” The prevailing view is that invisible “dark matter” dominates the matter content of the Universe. This project will explore new ways to study the nature of dark matter, which is one of the most puzzling scientific questions of the 21st century. The overarching goal of the research is to provide a number of dearly needed theoretical results that are necessary to take full advantage of the revolutionary progress in atom-based quantum technologies that are a new frontier in searches for new physics. The tools that will be developed, especially in understanding atomic structure calculations and theoretical concepts related to new physics models and how to benchmark them, will have far-reaching use for the community. The work will be important for applications in quantum information and the development of quantum sensors, studies of fundamental symmetries, determination of nuclear properties from atomic spectroscopy, astrophysics, plasma physics, and others.The project will spearhead a new generation of atomic precision measurements aimed at searches for physics beyond the Standard Model with a particular focus on dark matter (DM) searches. It was previously assumed that the ratio of the optical atomic clocks is only sensitive to photon-DM coupling via the variation of the fine-structure constant. This project will explore additional sensitivities of optical clocks to the hadronic sector due to the oscillation of the charge radius. Moreover, the clocks are sensitive not only to scalar dark matter but also to highly motivated pseudo-scalar axion and axion-like (APL) particles. Exploiting sensitivities to these hadronic DM couplings requires knowledge of the field shift constants that can be computed with the methods that will be developed in this project. The PI will explore the sensitivities of different clocks, including highly charged ions, to these new effects. The goals of the project are to (1) develop new paradigms for the detection of ultralight dark matter (UDM) with quantum sensors, (2) develop the phenomenology of specific UDM models, and (3) develop methods to significantly increase the precision of the atomic theory needed for the design and interpretation of experiments.This project is jointly funded by the Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Theory Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

银河系和更大尺度的大量观测数据无法根据“正常引力”框架内观测到的物质含量来解释。普遍的观点是，不可见的“暗物质”主导着宇宙的物质含量。该项目将探索新的方法。研究暗物质的本质，这是 21 世纪最令人困惑的科学问题之一。这项研究的首要目标是提供一些急需的理论成果，这些成果对于充分利用暗物质的革命性进展是必要的。基于原子的量子技术是寻找新物理学的新领域，将开发的工具，特别是在理解原子结构计算和与新物理模型相关的理论概念以及如何对它们进行基准测试方面，将具有深远的用途。这项工作对于量子信息的应用和量子传感器的开发、基本对称性的研究、原子光谱、天体物理学、等离子体物理学等核特性的测定具有重要意义。该项目将引领新一代原子。精密测量旨在探索标准模型之外的物理现象，特别关注暗物质（DM）搜索。以前假设光学原子钟的比率仅通过精细结构常数的变化对光子-DM 耦合敏感。该项目将探索由于电荷半径的振荡而导致的光学时钟对强子扇区的额外敏感性，此外，时钟不仅对标量暗物质敏感，而且对高度激励的赝标量轴子和。利用这些强子 DM 耦合的敏感性需要了解场位移常数，这些常数可以使用本项目中开发的方法进行计算，PI 将探索不同时钟的敏感性，包括高电荷时钟。该项目的目标是（1）开发利用量子传感器检测超轻暗物质（UDM）的新范例，（2）开发特定 UDM 模型的现象学，以及（3）开发显着提高实验设计和解释所需的原子理论精度的方法。该项目由原子、分子和光学物理理论计划和既定计划共同资助刺激竞争性研究 (EPSCoR)。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。