Project description
In the search for light candidates for dark matter
Dark matter, which scientists believe makes up more than 80 % of the matter in the universe, is one of the most elusive mysteries in modern physics. Light axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are amongst the best known dark matter candidates that could be detected through their oscillations into photons in the presence of magnetic fields. The aim of the EU-funded AxionDM project is to develop bold new ideas and technologies from material science that can revolutionise the search for dark matter axions and ALPs, and to use astronomical observations to search for complementary signals. The astrophysical searches will focus on high-energy gamma ray observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope as well as with current and future imaging air Cherenkov telescopes.
Objective
The nature of dark matter, which makes up more than 80% of the Universe's matter content, remains unknown. Light axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are well motivated dark-matter candidates that could be detected through their oscillations into photons in the presence of magnetic fields. Here, complementary laboratory and astrophysical searches for dark-matter axions and ALPs are proposed that will cover more than 10 orders of magnitude of possible axion and ALP masses.
The astrophysical searches will focus on high-energy gamma-ray observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope as well as current and future imaging air Cherenkov telescopes. Photon-ALP oscillations would cause features in the spectra of distant galaxies as well as gamma-ray bursts from core-collapse supernovae. Axion and ALP decay would also increase the opacity of the Universe for gamma rays. These signals will be searched for through novel comparisons of gamma-ray data and model predictions.
The laboratory searches will focus on contributions to the Any Light Particle Search (ALPS II) and International Axion Observatory (IAXO) experiments. New analysis and simulation frameworks, as well as trigger concepts, will be developed in order to significantly improve the background rejection for the Transition Edge Sensor (TES) detector employed in the ALPS experiment. These improvements could pave the way for an ALP detection in the laboratory with first data runs at the ALPS II experiment planned in 2021. Monte Carlo simulations will be used to assess whether TES detectors can achieve the low background rates required for IAXO. Such high energy resolution detectors could help to precisely measure the axion/ALP mass through mass-dependent spectral features.
Through an unprecedented investigation of axion and ALP signatures and by enhancing the sensitivity of future laboratory experiments, the proposed research will discover or rule out so-far unprobed dark-matter axions and ALPs.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsdark matter
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsphotons
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomystellar astronomysupernova
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Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
5230 Odense M
Denmark