Massive graviton dark matter searches with long-baseline atom interferometers

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of long-baseline atom interferometers to detect spin-2 ultra-light dark matter, revealing their sensitivity to new interaction mechanisms and expanding the search for dark matter beyond existing gravitational wave detectors.

Contribution

It introduces the first detailed analysis of atom interferometers' sensitivity to spin-2 ULDM across various massive gravity frameworks, highlighting new coupling mechanisms.

Findings

Atom interferometers can detect phase shifts caused by spin-2 ULDM.

Multiple coupling mechanisms enable probing a wide mass range.

Atom interferometers outperform laser interferometers in certain ULDM searches.

Abstract

Atom interferometers offer exceptional sensitivity to ultra-light dark matter (ULDM) by precisely measuring effects on atomic systems. Previous studies have demonstrated their capability to detect scalar and vector ULDM candidates, yet their potential for probing spin-2 ULDM remains unexplored. In this work, we address this gap by investigating the sensitivity of atom interferometers to spin-2 ULDM across several frameworks for massive gravity, including the Lorentz-invariant Fierz-Pauli case and two distinct Lorentz-violating scenarios. We show that coherent oscillations of the spin-2 ULDM field induce measurable phase shifts in atom interferometers through three coupling mechanisms: scalar interactions that modify atomic energy levels, and vector and tensor effects that alter the propagation of both atoms and light. We demonstrate that these multifaceted interactions enable atom interferometers to probe a range of ULDM properties and mass scales that are inaccessible to laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Our results establish the potential of atom interferometers to open a new experimental frontier for spin-2 dark matter detection.