Search for light scalar dark matter with atomic gravitational wave detectors

TL;DR

This paper proposes using atom interferometry-based gravitational wave detectors to search for ultralight scalar dark matter, which causes oscillations in fundamental constants, offering a highly sensitive and distinct detection method.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel atomic sensor-based detector design that significantly enhances sensitivity to scalar dark matter and differs from traditional gravitational wave detectors.

Findings

Potential to improve detection sensitivity by up to 10 orders of magnitude.

Operates in a frequency band complementary to existing methods.

Able to detect scalar signals alongside tensor gravitational waves.

Abstract

We show that gravitational wave detectors based on a type of atom interferometry are sensitive to ultralight scalar dark matter. Such dark matter can cause temporal oscillations in fundamental constants with a frequency set by the dark matter mass, and amplitude determined by the local dark matter density. The result is a modulation of atomic transition energies. This signal is ideally suited to a type of gravitational wave detector that compares two spatially separated atom interferometers referenced by a common laser. Such a detector can improve on current searches for electron-mass or electric-charge modulus dark matter by up to 10 orders of magnitude in coupling, in a frequency band complementary to that of other proposals. It demonstrates that this class of atomic sensors is qualitatively different from other gravitational wave detectors, including those based on laser interferometry. By using atomic-clock-like interferometers, laser noise is mitigated with only a single baseline. These atomic sensors can thus detect scalar signals in addition to tensor signals.