EAGER: A Broadband Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection

多项天文观测已经证实，宇宙中约85%的物质不是由正常原子组成，而是必须是不发射或吸收光线的、未被探测到的基本型“暗物质”粒子。这种所谓的暗物质(DM)的性质是物理学中最大的谜团之一，破译它的性质对宇宙学、天体物理学和高能粒子物理具有根本的重要性。随着其他理论受到直接探测和对撞机实验的更多限制，轴子粒子已经成为这个谜团的一个有吸引力的解决方案。轴子类粒子的探测通常依赖于它们与电磁场的耦合，因此它们需要与传统粒子探测器完全不同的实验方法。Abracadabra-10 cm(“利用放大的B场环装置对宇宙轴子进行宽带/共振探测”)包括建造一个直径10 cm的环形磁体。然后，产生的静态磁场可以产生由轴子DM感应的二次振荡磁场。振荡频率与轴子质量成正比。本科生研究是招收和留住物理专业学生的关键。它们将包括在实验的各个方面，从磁铁的安装到数据的获取和分析。对于本科生研究人员来说，这是一个独特的机会，可以在他们的家庭机构为世界领先的实验做出贡献。ABRACADABRA-10 cm是一项“高风险-高回报”的实验，因为该实验的灵敏度主要是由鱿鱼磁强计读出的超导拾取回路中检测到的噪声。有许多噪声源在没有现有仪器的情况下很难量化。这项急切的奖项将利用麻省理工学院核科学实验室的低温探测器专业知识和麻省理工学院等离子体科学与核聚变中心的磁学专业知识，组成一个跨学科团队，建立Abracadabra-10 cm，并在相对未知的参数空间中搜索轴子。

Multiple astronomical observations have established that about 85% of the matter in the universe is not made of normal atoms, but must be otherwise undetected elementary "dark matter" particles that do not emit or absorb light. The nature of this so-called Dark Matter (DM) is one of the great mysteries of physics and deciphering its nature is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics, and high-energy particle physics. Axion particles have become an attractive solution to this mystery as other theories have become more constrained by direct detection and collider experiments. The detection of axion-like particles often relies on their coupling to electromagnetic fields and therefore they require radically different experimental approaches than traditional particle detectors. ABRACADABRA-10cm ("A Broadband/Resonant Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection with an Amplifying B-field Ring Apparatus") involves building a 10cm diameter toroidal magnet. The static magnetic field created may then produce a secondary, oscillating magnetic field induced by axion DM. The frequency of oscillation is proportional to the axion mass.Undergraduate research is critical for recruiting and retaining physics students. They will be included in all aspects of the experiment from the installation of the magnet to the acquisition and analysis of data. This is a unique opportunity for undergraduate researchers to contribute to a world leading experiment at their home institution.ABRACADABRA-10cm is a "high risk-high payoff" experiment since the sensitivity of the experiment is dominated by the noise detected in the superconducting pickup loop read out by a SQUID magnetometer. There are many noise sources that are hard to quantify without an existing apparatus. This EAGER award will use the cryogenic detector expertise of MIT's Laboratory for Nuclear Science and the magnet expertise of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion center to form an interdisciplinary team to build ABRACADABRA-10cm and search for axions in a relatively unexplored parameter space.