EAGER: A Broadband Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection

多项天文观测已经确定，宇宙中大约85%的物质不是由正常原子组成的，而是不发射或吸收光的未被检测到的基本“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学具有根本的重要性。由于其他理论越来越受到直接探测和对撞机实验的限制，轴子粒子已经成为这个谜团的一个有吸引力的解决方案。类轴子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（“A Broadband/Resonant Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection with an Amplifying B-field Ring Apparatus”）涉及建造一个直径为10厘米的环形磁铁。所产生的静磁场然后可以产生由轴子DM感应的次级振荡磁场。振荡频率与轴子质量成正比。本科研究对于招收和留住物理学学生至关重要。他们将参与实验的各个方面，从磁铁的安装到数据的获取和分析。ABRACADABRA-10 cm是一个“高风险高回报”的实验，因为实验的灵敏度主要取决于SQUID磁强计读出的超导拾波回路中检测到的噪声。有许多噪声源在没有现有设备的情况下难以量化。这个EAGER奖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聚变中心的磁铁专业知识，组建一个跨学科团队，建造ABRACADABRA-10 cm，并在相对未开发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.