NSF-BSF: Development of High-Precision Atomic Methods and Dark Matter Searches

银河系和更大尺度的大量观测数据不能根据“正常重力”框架内观测到的物质含量来解释。主流观点认为，不可见的“暗物质”主导着宇宙的物质含量。该项目将探索新的方法来研究暗物质的本质，这是21世纪世纪最令人困惑的科学问题之一。研究的总体目标是提供一些急需的理论结果，这些结果是充分利用基于原子的量子技术的革命性进展所必需的，这些技术是寻找新物理学的新前沿。将开发的工具，特别是在理解原子结构计算和与新物理模型相关的理论概念以及如何对它们进行基准测试方面，将对社区产生深远的影响。这项工作将对量子信息的应用和量子传感器的开发、基本对称性的研究、原子光谱学、天体物理学、等离子体物理学等方面的核性质测定具有重要意义。该项目将引领新一代原子精密测量，旨在探索标准模型之外的物理，特别是暗物质（DM）搜索。以前的假设是，光学原子钟的比率只敏感的光子DM耦合通过精细结构常数的变化。本计画将探讨由于电荷半径的振荡，光学钟对强子扇区的额外灵敏度。此外，时钟不仅对标量暗物质敏感，而且对高度活跃的赝标量轴子和类轴子（APL）粒子也敏感。利用这些强子DM耦合的敏感性需要的知识，可以计算的方法，将在这个项目中开发的场位移常数。PI将探索不同时钟（包括高电荷离子）对这些新效应的敏感性。该项目的目标是（1）开发新的范式，用于量子传感器检测超轻暗物质（UDM），（2）开发特定UDM模型的现象学，（3）开发方法，以显着提高设计和解释实验所需的原子理论的精度。该项目由原子，分子，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Plentiful observational data on galactic and larger scales cannot be explained based on the observed matter content in the framework of “normal gravity.” The prevailing view is that invisible “dark matter” dominates the matter content of the Universe. This project will explore new ways to study the nature of dark matter, which is one of the most puzzling scientific questions of the 21st century. The overarching goal of the research is to provide a number of dearly needed theoretical results that are necessary to take full advantage of the revolutionary progress in atom-based quantum technologies that are a new frontier in searches for new physics. The tools that will be developed, especially in understanding atomic structure calculations and theoretical concepts related to new physics models and how to benchmark them, will have far-reaching use for the community. The work will be important for applications in quantum information and the development of quantum sensors, studies of fundamental symmetries, determination of nuclear properties from atomic spectroscopy, astrophysics, plasma physics, and others.The project will spearhead a new generation of atomic precision measurements aimed at searches for physics beyond the Standard Model with a particular focus on dark matter (DM) searches. It was previously assumed that the ratio of the optical atomic clocks is only sensitive to photon-DM coupling via the variation of the fine-structure constant. This project will explore additional sensitivities of optical clocks to the hadronic sector due to the oscillation of the charge radius. Moreover, the clocks are sensitive not only to scalar dark matter but also to highly motivated pseudo-scalar axion and axion-like (APL) particles. Exploiting sensitivities to these hadronic DM couplings requires knowledge of the field shift constants that can be computed with the methods that will be developed in this project. The PI will explore the sensitivities of different clocks, including highly charged ions, to these new effects. The goals of the project are to (1) develop new paradigms for the detection of ultralight dark matter (UDM) with quantum sensors, (2) develop the phenomenology of specific UDM models, and (3) develop methods to significantly increase the precision of the atomic theory needed for the design and interpretation of experiments.This project is jointly funded by the Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Theory Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.