NASDUCK': Laboratory Limits on Ultralight Dark-Photon Dark Matter with Null-Axis Magnetometry

TL;DR

This paper reports a new laboratory search for ultralight dark-photon dark matter using null-axis magnetometry, setting the strongest constraints to date on the kinetic-mixing parameter in the 1-500 kHz mass range.

Contribution

It introduces a novel null-axis magnetometry technique that significantly improves laboratory bounds on dark-photon dark matter coupling.

Findings

Set new laboratory limits on kinetic-mixing parameter up to three orders of magnitude better.

Demonstrated the effectiveness of null-axis magnetometry in dark matter searches.

Established the strongest terrestrial constraints in the specified mass range.

Abstract

The dark photon is a well-motivated ultralight dark-matter candidate that may couple to the Standard Model through kinetic mixing. We search for dark-photon dark matter in the mass range $m_{A'}c^2 = 4\times10^{-12}$-$2\times10^{-9}\,\mathrm{eV}$ (1-500 kHz) using a three-axis magnetometer inside a large conductive shielded room. We set new laboratory limits on the kinetic-mixing parameter $\epsilon$, improving upon previous laboratory bounds by up to three orders of magnitude. Our search exploits a geometry-defined null response along one axis as a noise reference; a subtraction procedure reduces the noise floor and improves sensitivity. These results establish the strongest laboratory constraints in this mass range and illustrate how null-axis magnetometry can broaden terrestrial searches for ultralight vector dark matter.