PM: Precision Searches for Physics Beyond the Standard Model Using Optically Levitated Mcrospheres

PM：使用光学悬浮微球精确搜索超出标准模型的物理现象

• 批准号: 2109329
• 负责人: David Moore
• 金额: $ 54万
• 依托单位: Yale University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-15 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109329&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PM; Precision; Searches; Physics; Beyond

New tools developed in atomic, molecular, and optical physics are now enabling extremely precise sensors for a variety of applications. In fundamental physics, some of the most demanding applications come from testing the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. While the SM provides a highly successful description of the known fundamental particles and interactions, astrophysical observations and laboratory experiments indicate that it is incomplete. In particular, most of the matter in the universe appears to be “dark,” and is not included in the SM. The SM also fails to incorporate gravity and cannot explain why matter (rather than antimatter) dominates the universe. This work will develop optical trapping technology to search for tiny deviations from the predictions of the SM that could provide evidence for new fundamental particles or interactions. Previous work employing optically trapped particles has developed the most precise micron scale force sensors to date. This work will further improve the sensitivity of these systems and extend them to large arrays of particles. These arrays will be used to search for interactions from dark matter or deviations from the expected SM forces such as gravity at microscopic distances. Through this development, graduate students and postdocs will be trained in the development of high precision sensing technologies. The PI and graduate students will also provide educational opportunities related to the scientific and technical aspects of this research to students in the New Haven community.Levitated optomechanics has undergone significant development in the past few decades, following the pioneering work of Ashkin and Dziedzic. These technologies now permit objects as large as several nanograms in mass to be trapped in vacuum and optically cooled to effective temperatures as low as 100 microKelvin. Such sensors can reach sub-attonewton scale sensitivities to forces acting at micron scales. These techniques will be used to search for deviations from Newton’s and Coulomb’s laws that may appear at weaker coupling or shorter distance than those at which previous experiments have been sensitive. In addition, these sensors will be used to search directly for recoils induced by relic dark matter particles, and large arrays of such sensors will enable a new class of particle dark matter detectors that are complementary to existing searches. In parallel to the work to apply levitated optomechanical sensors to searches for beyond the SM physics, the PI and graduate students will continue to teach a class on the “Physics of Light” to local middle and high school students through the Pathways to Science Summer Scholars program hosted at Yale.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.

在原子、分子和光学物理学领域开发的新工具现在可以为各种应用提供极其精确的传感器。在基础物理学中，一些最苛刻的应用来自粒子物理学标准模型（SM）的测试。虽然SM提供了一个非常成功的描述已知的基本粒子和相互作用，天体物理观测和实验室实验表明，它是不完整的。特别是，宇宙中的大多数物质似乎是“黑暗的”，并且不包括在SM中。SM也未能纳入引力，无法解释为什么物质（而不是反物质）主宰宇宙。这项工作将开发光学捕获技术，以寻找与SM预测的微小偏差，从而为新的基本粒子或相互作用提供证据。以前的工作，采用光学捕获的粒子已经开发出最精确的微米尺度的力传感器。这项工作将进一步提高这些系统的灵敏度，并将其扩展到大型粒子阵列。这些阵列将用于搜索来自暗物质的相互作用或与预期的SM力（如微观距离处的重力）的偏差。通过这一发展，研究生和博士后将在高精度传感技术的发展进行培训。PI和研究生还将为纽黑文社区的学生提供与本研究的科学和技术方面相关的教育机会。在Ashkin和Dziedzic的开创性工作之后，悬浮光学力学在过去几十年中经历了重大发展。这些技术现在允许质量大到几纳克的物体被困在真空中，并被光学冷却到低至100微开尔文的有效温度。这样的传感器可以达到亚牛顿尺度的灵敏度，以微米尺度的力量作用。这些技术将被用来寻找牛顿定律和库仑定律的偏差，这些偏差可能出现在比以前的实验敏感的耦合较弱或距离较短的地方。此外，这些传感器将用于直接搜索由遗留暗物质粒子引起的反冲，大型传感器阵列将使一类新的粒子暗物质探测器成为现有搜索的补充。在将悬浮光机械传感器应用于SM物理之外的搜索的同时，PI和研究生将继续教授“光的物理学”课程通过耶鲁大学主办的科学之路暑期奖学金计划，向当地的初中和高中学生颁发。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，被认为值得支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。

项目成果

Searches for Massive Neutrinos with Mechanical Quantum Sensors

• DOI: 10.1103/prxquantum.4.010315
• 发表时间: 2022-07
• 期刊: PRX Quantum
• 影响因子: 9.7
• 作者: D. Carney;K. Leach;D. Moore