CPM Seminar

Searching for dark matter using nuclear shape oscillations

Amar Vutha

University of Toronto

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Despite strong astrophysical hints that dark matter (DM) exists, there is zero evidence from lab experiments so far. In an attempt to search for DM with better sensitivity, we are using a new experimental system that can detect ultralight dark matter particles such as axions. Our experiment uses octupolar 153-Eu nuclei (which have enhanced sensitivity to axionlike DM), contained inside strongly polarized ions (which amplify the nuclear shape oscillations), doped into a crystal (which gives us a large ensemble of trapped particles). This system lets us look for DM signals with high sensitivity, while providing lots of tricks for rejecting backgrounds from mundane sources.

I will talk about (a) why it is possible to look for dark matter using small-scale precision experiments, (b) how our experiment works, and (c) results from our first data run.