Elevating the search for dark matter

Scientists estimate that over 80 percent of the total matter in the Universe is dark matter, but this invisible, elusive substance has not yet been detected. The various proposed dark matter candidates differ in mass and require different experimental setups.

Some recent dark matter experiments have begun employing levitated optomechanical systems. Kilian et al. explored how levitated large-mass sensors and dark matter research intersect.

Levitated sensors are quantum technology platforms that use magnetic fields, electric fields, or light to levitate and manipulate particles, which become very sensitive to weak forces. These sensors are especially well suited for detecting candidates in regimes where current large-scale experiments suffer limitations, such as ultralight and certain hidden-sector candidates.

The authors discussed how these advantages make levitated sensors, including optically trapped silica nanoparticles, magnetically trapped ferromagnets, and levitated superconducting particles, ideal for detecting different dark matter candidates.

“We hope others will use this review as a resource, a comprehensive guide, and compendium of knowledge, as well as for further research regarding the design and conception of novel levitated large-mass sensors capable of probing new regions of the dark matter parameter space,” said author Eva Kilian.

The authors highlighted past levitated system experiments that investigated dark matter, some of which have set new limits on dark matter models and interactions. They hope their review will improve future dark matter experiments and ongoing searches.

“As this technology matures, more dark matter parameter space will be explored and new methods of detecting dark matter will be developed,” Kilian said.

Source: “Dark matter searches with levitated sensors,” by Eva Kilian, Markus Rademacher, Jonathan M. H. Gosling, Julian H. Iacoponi, Fiona Alder, Marko Toroš, Antonio Pontin, Chamkaur Ghag, Sougato Bose, Tania S. Monteiro, and P. F. Barker, AVS Quantum Science (2024). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/5.0200916 .

This paper is part of the Large Scale Quantum Detectors collection, learn more here .