Axion quasiparticles for axion dark matter detection

Axion quasiparticles for axion dark matter detection

Schütte-Engel, Jan (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Universität Hamburg)
Marsh, David J.E. (Georg-August-University)
Millar, Alexander J. (Stockholm University; KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
Sekine, Akihiko (RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS))
Chadha-Day, Francesca (Durham University)
Hoof, Sebastian (Georg-August-University)
Ali, M.N. (TU Delft QN/Ali Lab; Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Fong, Kin Chung (Raytheon BBN Technologies)
Hardy, Edward (University of Liverpool)

2021

It has been suggested that certain antiferromagnetic topological insulators contain axion quasiparticles (AQs), and that such materials could be used to detect axion dark matter (DM). The AQ is a longitudinal antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation coupled to the electromagnetic Chern-Simons term, which, in the presence of an applied magnetic field, leads to mass mixing between the AQ and the electric field. The electromagnetic boundary conditions and transmission and reflection coefficients are computed. A model for including losses into this system is presented, and the resulting linewidth is computed. It is shown how transmission spectroscopy can be used to measure the resonant frequencies and damping coefficients of the material, and demonstrate conclusively the existence of the AQ. The dispersion relation and boundary conditions permit resonant conversion of axion DM into THz photons in a material volume that is independent of the resonant frequency, which is tuneable via an applied magnetic field. A parameter study for axion DM detection is performed, computing boost amplitudes and bandwidths using realistic material properties including loss. The proposal could allow for detection of axion DM in the mass range between 1 and 10 meV using current and near future technology.

axions
dark matter detectors
dark matter experiments
dark matter theory

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:dfa00265-d1c4-4e5f-8984-9202782f4caf

https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2021/08/066

2022-03-03

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2021 (8)

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

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© 2021 Jan Schütte-Engel, David J.E. Marsh, Alexander J. Millar, Akihiko Sekine, Francesca Chadha-Day, Sebastian Hoof, M.N. Ali, Kin Chung Fong, Edward Hardy, More Authors