EAGER: A Broadband Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection

多次天文观测已经确定，宇宙中大约85%的物质不是由正常的原子组成的，而是由不发射或吸收光的未被探测到的基本“暗物质”粒子组成的。这种所谓的暗物质（DM）的本质是物理学的一大谜题，破译它的本质对宇宙学、天体物理学和高能粒子物理学具有根本性的重要性。随着其他理论受到直接探测和对撞机实验的限制，轴子粒子已经成为解决这个谜题的一个有吸引力的方法。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截然不同的实验方法。ABRACADABRA-10cm（“用放大b场环装置进行宇宙轴子探测的宽带/共振方法”）涉及建造一个直径为10cm的环形磁铁。由此产生的静态磁场可以产生二次振荡磁场，振荡磁场由轴子DM诱导。振荡频率与轴子质量成正比。本科研究对招收和留住物理系学生至关重要。他们将参与实验的各个方面，从磁铁的安装到数据的采集和分析。这对本科生研究人员来说是一个独特的机会，可以在自己所在的机构为世界领先的实验做出贡献。ABRACADABRA-10cm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磁力计读出的超导拾取环路中检测到的噪声。如果没有现成的仪器，很多噪声源很难量化。这项EAGER奖励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，组成一个跨学科团队，建造abracadabraa -10cm，并在一个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.