Periodic Reporting for period 3 - G-LEAD (Giga-Hertz Laboratory Experiment for Axion Dark Matter)
Berichtszeitraum: 2023-09-01 bis 2025-02-28
The mass of our universe is composed in large majority by some entity of unknown nature. This is the co-called dark matter problem, for which particle physicists and cosmologists can only propose speculative models. The G-LEAD project aims at testing one of such models, among the most predictive. It supposes that dark matter is made of new particles, called axions, that interact very feebly with the conventional electromagnetic field in the presence of a strong magnetic field. Within the project, an experimental setup is being built. It exploits innovative magnets, that can support electric currents up to two thousand times that of a typical toaster, or hair dryer. These magnets are made of high critical temperature-superconducting materials, and must be operated at very low temperatures, down to -269 degree celcius (4 kelvin). If the axion model is correct, this should induce a very low-power electromagnetic wave, in some frequency band above 10 GHz, i.e. ten times or so above typical wifi signals. The G-LEAD project operates a sensitive radiometer aiming at detecting this signal.
For the final experiment to be built, some innovative magnets have been tested. Those make use of superconducting materials of a specific type, called high critical temperature. This kind of magnet can be operated in ways more easy to setup than conventional superconducting magnets such as those used in MRI machines in hospitals.