Opening up new ground in the search for dark matter

A brand new form of detector for dark matter has the potential to make a direct detection of the enigmatic materials, in response to an evaluation by RIKEN physicists.

Objects that astronomers can detect are thought to make up solely about 15% of the mass of the universe; the opposite 85% is made up of dark matter. The character of dark matter is without doubt one of the nice mysteries in trendy physics.

“Darkish matter could be very elusive,” says Javier De Miguel of the RIKEN Heart for Superior Photonics (RAP). “We’re probably being bombarded by dark-matter particles each second with out noticing it.”

A worldwide search is underway to attempt to immediately detect dark matter. “A number of candidates for dark matter are being explored in parallel in an unlimited joint effort by the scientific neighborhood,” says De Miguel. “I am optimistic that the detection of dark matter might be one of many landmark occasions of this century.”

In 2021, De Miguel reported on a brand new form of dark-matter detector, which he referred to as the Darkish photons & Axion-Like particles Interferometer (DALI), for detecting dark-matter candidates generally known as axions.

The DALI is now within the design and prototyping phase, and it’s anticipated to be put in at Teide Observatory at Tenerife, with a goal commissioning time of about 5 years.

To judge the prospects of DALI detecting axions and different dark-matter candidates, De Miguel and Chiko Otani, additionally of RAP, and their co-workers have performed an evaluation of the detector. The examine is published within the journal Bodily Overview D.

Their forecast predicts that over about 15 years of operation DALI will be capable of cowl a good portion of the parameter space the place the axion (if it exists) is likely to be hiding. The evaluation additionally signifies that DALI can also be capable of detect one other doable candidate for dark matter generally known as the darkish photon.

DALI will be capable of cowl uncharted territory. “Earlier experiments had limitations when it got here to looking for dark matter at high frequencies. DALI solves this drawback by adopting a brand new technique,” says De Miguel. “If the axion or darkish photon exist on this territory, we could pioneer a direct detection.”

The evaluation additionally revealed methods that might be used to reinforce the effectiveness of DALI, together with putting in it on a steerable mount and creating an array of small DALI detectors.

Based mostly on the evaluation, De Miguel is satisfied that DALI has the potential to make a significant contribution to the worldwide seek for dark matter. “I consider that the DALI experiment can play a key position within the search and detection of dark matter,” says De Miguel. “Particularly since it’s fairly low value and possible to implement.”