Searching for dark matter with a spin-based interferometer

Daniel Gavilan-Martin (), Grzegorz Łukasiewicz (), Mikhail Padniuk, Emmanuel Klinger, Magdalena Smolis, Nataniel L. Figueroa, Derek F. Jackson Kimball, Alexander O. Sushkov, Szymon Pustelny, Dmitry Budker and Arne Wickenbrock
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Daniel Gavilan-Martin: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Grzegorz Łukasiewicz: Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Mikhail Padniuk: Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Emmanuel Klinger: Université de Franche-Comté
Magdalena Smolis: Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Nataniel L. Figueroa: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Derek F. Jackson Kimball: California State University—East Bay
Alexander O. Sushkov: Boston University
Szymon Pustelny: Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Dmitry Budker: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Arne Wickenbrock: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Axion-like particles (ALPs) arise from well-motivated extensions to the Standard Model and could account for dark matter. ALP dark matter would manifest as a field oscillating at an (as of yet) unknown frequency. The frequency depends linearly on the ALP mass and plausibly ranges from 10−22 to 10 eV/c2. This motivates broadband search approaches. We report on a direct search for ALP dark matter with an interferometer composed of two atomic K-Rb-3He comagnetometers, one situated in Mainz, Germany, and the other in Kraków, Poland. We leverage the anticipated spatio-temporal coherence properties of the ALP field and probe all ALP-gradient-spin interactions covering a mass range of nine orders of magnitude. No significant evidence of an ALP signal is found. We thus place new upper limits on the ALP-neutron, ALP-proton and ALP-electron couplings reaching below gaNN

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60178-6

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