The dark matter field of the dark photon is converted into photons in a layered dielectric target. These photons are focused by a lens on a small, low-noise SNSPD detector. The beam emitted from the stack is approximately uniform except in a small region in the middle where there is no mirror. Credit: Chiles et al.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Perimeter Institute have recently established new limitations on dark photons, which are hypothetical particles and renowned dark matter candidates. Their findings, presented in an article published in Physical review letterswere achieved using a new superconducting nanocable (SNSPD) single photon detector that they developed.
“There is a close collaboration between our NIST and MIT research groups, led by Dr. Sae Woo Nam and Prof. Karl Berggren, respectively,” said Jeff Chiles, one of the researchers who conducted the study, at Phys.org. “We work together to advance technology and applications for ultra-sensitive devices called single-photon superconducting nanocable detectors or SNSPDs.”
Over the past few years, Chiles and colleagues have been considering potential applications that will benefit from the SNSPD detectors they have been working on, which have virtually no background noise among other advantageous features. They were finally introduced to a group of theoretical physicists from the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Canada.
This team of theorists had an interesting idea for a dark matter detector that could operate in a completely different domain from those currently used in dark matter searches. This detector, that is, a multilayer dielectric optical haloscope, was a very promising concept, but it would require an optical detector that could work much better than those on the current market.
“This turned out to be the perfect combination, as the MIT and NIST groups were able to build the detector and the device and test it,” Chiles explained. “So we teamed up and named our project LAMPOST (Light A ‘Multilayer Periodic Optical SNSPD Target). Our goal was to get the first experimental proof of this idea and show that it could be used to look for dark matter. with better sensitivity than the limits already established ”.
The optical detector devised by Chiles and colleagues is based on a structure known as a dielectric cell or lens. This structure can generate signal photons of interest, converting a non-relativistic dark photon into a relativistic photon at the same frequency.
New limitations on DM dark photon with mass and kinetic mixture. The magenta shaded region shows them the 90% limit set by our experiment. The fine purple curve corresponds to the scope of an equivalent experiment with an improved SDE of 90%. The existing limits in DM of dark photons from the FUNK, SENSEI and Xenon10 experiments and the non-detection of solar dark photons by Xenon1T are shown in gray. Credit: Chiles et al.
“First, we performed analysis of the device construction, optical simulations to determine the efficiency of optical collection, simulation of the detection efficiency, calculation of the influence of polarization on the dark matter signal and the minimum signal strength is compatible with the possible range of target properties, “Ilya Charaev, another researcher involved in the study, told Phys.org. “Using the SNSPD technique, all incoming signals were recorded during a 180-hour exposure.”
To set a limit on dark matter coupling, the researchers estimated the dark count rate, also called “noise” for the SNSPD detector they developed. Interestingly, its estimated noise value is the lowest of all values reported in the physics literature.
“Remarkably, we were successful in our goal, as we were able to look for a type of dark matter, specifically‘ dark photons ’, with twice the sensitivity than anything else in the energy range we were looking for,” he said. Chiles. “In the grand scheme of things, this is still a small notch of a wide variety of possibilities for dark matter. But for our first race overcoming existing boundaries is an important first step, and for me, this speaks to the power and simplicity of the multilayer dielectric optical haloscope approach. “
In their experiments, this team of researchers gathered valuable information that could inform future dark photon research, while at the same time encouraging the use of SNSPD. In addition to setting new limitations on dark photons, in fact, Chiles and colleagues learned more about the capabilities of their detector.
Mostly, they found the noise from their detector to be incredibly low. More specifically, the team only observed 5 “false events” for one of its single-photon detectors during 180 hours of data collection, suggesting that its technology is very sensitive to weak signals.
“It’s exciting to think what other rare event physics experiments this technology could be applied to in the near future,” Chiles added. “In the meantime, we plan to expand the experiment from here. The first test was a proof of concept, but the next will be sensitive enough to cover a large space of parameters for dark matter, which will include both axions and dark photons. ”
Gravitational wave detectors for dark matter More information: Jeff Chiles et al, New Constraints on Dark Photon Dark Matter with Superconducting Nanowire Detectors in an Optical Haloscope, Physical review letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103 / PhysRevLett.128.231802
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