Searching for Dark Matter Axions with DMRadio

Speaker: Maria Simanovskaia (Stanford University)

Date: Monday, April 15, 2024

Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Location: 472 Willamette Hall

Abstract: The nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of the modern era. The axion is a promising dark matter candidate that was postulated as a solution to the strong charge-parity problem in the standard model of particle physics. In the presence of a magnetic field, axions convert to an electromagnetic field oscillating at a frequency corresponding to the axion mass. We can detect this oscillating electromagnetic field like a radio detects stations at certain frequencies by tuning a resonator and searching for a signal. DMRadio is a suite of experiments that use cryogenics, strong magnets, cutting-edge amplifier technology, and resonators to search for the small signal expected from axion dark matter. In this talk, I will present an overview of DMRadio, focusing on the detector currently under construction at Stanford, DMRadio-50L.

Host: Laura Jeanty