Searching for Exotic Spin-Dependent Interactions Using Rotationally Modulated Source Masses and an Atomic Magnetometer Array

TL;DR

This paper proposes an experimental method using rotationally modulated source masses and an atomic magnetometer array to detect exotic spin-dependent interactions with significantly improved precision, emphasizing noise reduction and harmonic analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach combining source mass modulation and magnetometer arrays to enhance detection sensitivity for spin-dependent interactions.

Findings

Potential to improve detection precision by up to 5 orders of magnitude.

Use of harmonic analysis to identify signals at fundamental and harmonic frequencies.

Noise reduction through modulation techniques enhances measurement accuracy.

Abstract

We describe a proposed experimental search for exotic spin-dependent interactions using rotationally modulated source masses and an atomic magnetometer array. Rather than further improving the magnetometer sensitivity, noise reduction can be another way to reach higher measurement precision. In this work, we propose to use modulating techniques of the source masses to reduce the noise of the experiment. Better precision can be achieved if the fundamental frequency and harmonics of the rotating source masses are used to detect the new interactions. Furthermore, if an array of magnetometers are applied, the statistic precision can be improved, and some common noises can be canceled. Our analysis and simulations indicate that the proposed experiment scheme can improve the detection precisions of three types of spin-dependent interactions by as much as $\sim$5 orders in the force range of $\sim$cm to $\sim$10m.