First Search for Ultralight Dark Matter Using a Magnetically Levitated Particle

TL;DR

This paper reports the first search for ultralight dark matter using a magnetically levitated particle, setting new limits on dark matter coupling in a specific mass range and proposing an upgraded experiment for enhanced sensitivity.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum sensing approach with a levitated particle to search for ultralight dark matter and outlines future upgrades for improved detection capabilities.

Findings

No evidence of dark matter signal was found.

Set new upper limits on dark matter coupling strength.

Proposed the POLONAISE experiment for future searches.

Abstract

We perform the first search for ultralight dark matter using a magnetically levitated particle. A sub-millimeter permanent magnet is levitated in a superconducting trap with a measured force sensitivity of $0.2\,\mathrm{fN/\sqrt{Hz}}$. We find no evidence of a signal and derive limits on dark matter coupled to the difference between baryon and lepton number, $B - L$, in the mass range $(1.10360 \text{ - } 1.10485) \times 10^{-13}\,\mathrm{eV} / c^2$. Our most stringent limit on the coupling strength is $g_{B - L} \lesssim 2.98 \times 10^{-21}$. We propose the POLONAISE (Probing Oscillations using Levitated Objects for Novel Accelerometry in Searches of Exotic physics) experiment, featuring short-, medium-, and long-term upgrades that will give us leading sensitivity in a wide mass range and demonstrating the promise of this novel quantum sensing technology in the hunt for dark matter.