Physics Program Presents
Searching for the Axion via Spin-dependent Forces
Friday, November 5, 2021
Hegeman 107
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Nancy Aggarwal, Northwestern University
According to the standard model of physics, the neutron which is made up of quarks should have a finite electric dipole moment (edm). However, precision measurements of the neutron's edm place a vanishingly small upper bound on it. This is referred to as the strong CP problem. The axion is a new particle that was proposed to solve the strong CP problem. The possible mass range for the axion spans about 20 orders of magnitude. In certain circumstances, the axion can also explain dark matter.In my talk, I will describe a new experiment under development to look for the axion in the 10^-5 - 10^-2 eV mass range. This experiment, ARIADNE, will look for a spin-dependent force between an unpolarized source mass and a highly polarized ^3He gas mediated by the axion. The effect is equivalent to a fictitious magnetic field applied to the ^3He gas. In order to make this measurement, we need to be able to measure magnetic fields as small as 10^-21 T. This experiment requires bringing together multiple cutting-edge technologies into one system. I will describe the challenges in integrating these technologies towards achieving the required precision as well as our progress towards mitigating them.
For more information, call 845-752-4391, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Hegeman 107