Collaborative Research: Axion Resonant InterAction DetectioN Experiment (ARIADNE) - a Continuation Proposal

合作研究：轴子共振相互作用检测实验（ARIADNE）——一项延续提案

• 批准号: 1806395
• 负责人: Aharon Kapitulnik
• 金额: $ 48万
• 依托单位: Stanford University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1806395&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Axion; Resonant; InterAction

Multiple astronomical observations have established that about 85% of the matter in the universe is not made of known particles. Deciphering the nature of this so-called Dark Matter is of fundamental importance to cosmology, astrophysics, and high-energy particle physics. One of the most exciting quests in particle physics is the search for new particles beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Extensions of the Standard Model predict not only new particles with large masses but also some with very small masses. Such a candidate is the axion, which has been introduced to explain the smallness of Charge-Parity (CP) violation in Quantum Chromodynamics and which turns out to also be a prime candidate for a constituent of the dark matter in the universe. The Axion Resonant InterAction DetectioN Experiment (ARIADNE) is designed to search for axion-mediated spin-dependent interactions between nuclei at sub-millimeter ranges. The experiment involves a rotating non-magnetic mass to source the axion field, and a dense ensemble of laser-polarized He-3 nuclei to detect the axion field by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. While participating in this research, a team of postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers will be broadly trained in the techniques of experimental atomic physics, optical pumping, nuclear magnetic resonance, low-temperature physics, micro-fabrication, magnetic shielding, vacuum systems, and modeling. This will be valuable preparation for work in basic or applied research, either in the U.S. or international work force or scientific community.The signal from an axion field can be resonantly enhanced by properly modulating the axion potential at the nuclear spin precession frequency. The goal of this award is to complete construction of the experiment, bring it through its commissioning phase during which possible systematics will be evaluated, and start the early data taking stage, exploring new parameter space for the PQ axion. The method has the potential to improve previous experimental and astrophysical bounds on axions by several orders of magnitude and probe deep into the theoretically interesting regime for the PQ axion. The experiment is also sensitive to more exotic axion-like particles. The new method can ultimately exceed present laboratory constraints on spin-dependent short-range forces by up to 8 orders of magnitude and can improve on the combined laboratory/astrophysical limits by a factor of 10^4 in the axion mass range of ma between 10 micro-eV and 10 milli-eV, probing deep into the traditional "PQ-axion window".This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

多项天文观测证实，宇宙中约85%的物质不是由已知粒子组成的。破译这种所谓的暗物质的本质对宇宙学、天体物理学和高能粒子物理学具有根本的重要性。粒子物理学中最激动人心的任务之一是寻找超越粒子物理标准模型的新粒子。标准模型的扩展不仅预测了具有大质量的新粒子，而且还预测了一些质量非常小的新粒子。这样的候选者就是轴子，它被引入来解释量子色动力学中电荷宇称(CP)破坏的微小，事实证明它也是宇宙中暗物质成分的主要候选者。轴子共振相互作用探测实验(Ariadne)的目的是在亚毫米范围内寻找轴子介导的原子核之间的自旋相关相互作用。该实验包括一个旋转的非磁性质量来产生轴子场，以及一个密集的激光极化的He-3原子核系综来用核磁共振探测轴子场。在参与这项研究的同时，一支由博士后、研究生和本科生组成的团队将接受实验原子物理、光学泵浦、核磁共振、低温物理、微制造、磁屏蔽、真空系统和建模技术方面的广泛培训。这将为基础或应用研究工作做有价值的准备，无论是在美国还是在国际劳动力或科学界。通过适当地调制核自旋进动频率处的轴子势，来自轴子场的信号可以共振地增强。该奖项的目标是完成实验的构建，使其通过调试阶段，在此阶段将对可能的系统学进行评估，并开始早期数据获取阶段，为PQ轴子探索新的参数空间。该方法有可能将之前的实验和天体物理对轴子的限制提高几个数量级，并深入探索PQ轴子理论上有趣的区域。这项实验对更奇异的轴子状粒子也很敏感。新方法最终可以超过目前实验室对自旋相关短程作用力的限制高达8个数量级，并可以在10微eV到10毫eV的轴子质量范围内将实验室/天体物理综合限制提高10^4倍，深入探索传统的“pq-axion窗口”。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。