Heidelberg 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 38: Search for New Particles 3

T 38.1: Vortrag

Dienstag, 22. März 2022, 16:15–16:30, T-H23

Searching for Axion-Photon Couplings — •Robin Löwenberg, Tom Krokotsch, Daniel Klein, Gudrid Moortgat-Pick, and Krisztian Peters — Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, Germany

The nature of dark matter is not yet known. Extensive studies have been done searching for a weakly interactive massive particle (WIMP) but are still waiting for a positive signal.

Another popular approach is assuming that dark matter consists of light particles rather than WIMPs. These particles are called weakly interactive slender particles (WISPs). One of the most promising candidates is the axion which was proposed in the seventies to solve the so-called strong-CP-problem. It later turned out to be a good dark matter candidate in a certain mass range.

Experiments searching for axions and axion-like particles like ALPS 1 (2007-2010) and ALPS 2 (since 2021) are provided by Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg with further experiments on the way. Most of them are based on the assumption that axions show photon-like couplings and therefore would interact with electromagnetic fields.

This talk aims to explain the concept of axions and in which mass ranges and coupling strengths they might be a good dark matter candidate. Furthermore, a quick overview will be given of current and possible future experiments promising to detect the particle if it exists.