Wideband Search for Axionlike Dark Matter Using Octupolar Nuclei in a Crystal

TL;DR

This study conducts a wideband search for axionlike dark matter by detecting oscillating symmetry violations in Eu-153 nuclei within a crystal, setting new constraints on ALP properties across a broad mass range.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental approach using octupolar nuclei in a crystal to search for ultralight axionlike particles over a wide mass spectrum.

Findings

Set new constraints on ALP-gluon coupling strength.

Detected no oscillating parity-odd signals within sensitivity limits.

Extended the mass range for ALP searches by eight decades.

Abstract

Most of the matter in the Universe is in the form of dark matter, which has evaded detection so far. Ultralight axionlike particles (ALPs) are a class of dark matter candidates that produce measurable signatures in the form of oscillating violations of discrete symmetries in nuclei. We report results from a search for an oscillating parity-odd time-reversal-odd nuclear Schiff moment of $^{153}$Eu ions in a crystal, which leads to constraints on ALP-gluon coupling strength across a wide band spanning eight decades in ALP mass.