Axion Quasiparticles are helping to unravel the universe’s greatest mystery in the quest for the invisible.
A global team of scientists has developed a new method for finding axions, the enigmatic particles thought to make up most dark matter. Harvard University, King’s College London, the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, and several other international institutions collaborated on the Nature article. Scientists believe they are closer than ever to identifying a fundamental component of the universe that has been hidden since the 1970s using quasiparticles.
The Dark Matter Puzzle and the Elusive Axion
Similar in importance to the Higgs boson, the axion has been one of the most sought-after fundamental particles in science for many years. Although the axion is widely recognized in theory, it has never been detected in reality. To answer difficult problems about particle physics and the nature of dark matter, the enigmatic material that makes up around 85% of the universe’s mass, its existence was suggested.
Dark matter does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, therefore conventional astronomical tools cannot detect it. The existence of axions would reveal the cosmos’s formation and evolution in addition to answering the dark matter puzzle. Ivar Martin, a prominent physicist at Argonne, said earlier attempts to identify these particles entailed clever “light shining through the wall” tests or dark-matter axions being converted into photons. Nevertheless, the latest study takes a different tack and employs quantum materials.
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Using Quasiparticles as “Simulated” Detectors
Quasiparticles, which are “particles” that arise from the collective behavior of numerous individual particles operating as a single unit rather than fundamental particles themselves, are the key to the breakthrough. In this particular experiment, the team was able to successfully stimulate and detect a “material realisation” of axions in a laboratory environment.
These axion quasiparticles share the same special characteristics, but they are models of the fundamental particles in deep space. The quasiparticle would be excited if an actual dark matter axion from the universe were to strike the specially designed substance, according to Harvard assistant professor Suyang Xu. The discovery of this particular reaction will allow scientists to definitively verify that dark matter axions are present in our surroundings.
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“Cosmic Car Radio” engineering
This finding is based on manganese bismuth telluride, a substance known for its intricate magnetic and electrical characteristics. The researchers employed precision nanofabrication engineering to shape the material into a two-dimensional crystal structure to provide an environment that was conducive to axion quasiparticles. The material had to be carefully layered to improve its quantum properties.
The procedure was anything but easy. According to lead author Jian-Xiang Qiu, manganese bismuth telluride is sensitive to air and challenging to work with; to properly adjust its properties, the researchers had to “exfoliate” the material down to a small number of atomic layers. Utilizing cutting-edge measurement instruments and ultrafast laser optics, the team worked in a highly regulated setting to record the quasiparticles’ movements with previously unheard-of accuracy.
Researchers have dubbed this system a “cosmic car radio”. This material can be tuned to certain radio frequencies released by axion particles, just as a radio can be tuned to different frequencies to catch a particular broadcast. With the goal of formally detecting dark matter within the next 15 years, the team intends to utilize this “radio” to record dark matter signals that have escaped all prior technology.
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Multidisciplinary Success
A highly interdisciplinary strategy that included condensed matter physics, material chemistry, and high-energy physics is credited with the project’s accomplishment. To support the material realization of axions, Argonne National Laboratory physicists Michael Smith and Ivar Martin provided a thorough theoretical explanation of the magnetic excitations.
The DOE Office of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and numerous organizations in Taiwan, Japan, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom were among the many international organizations that provided support for the project. The significance of the axion to the larger scientific community is demonstrated by this international collaboration. According to King’s College London lecturer David Marsh, we are “closing in on the axion and fast” because the amount of research being published on axions right now is comparable to the time right before the Higgs boson was discovered.
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Quantum Technology: Going Beyond Dark Matter
This research is driven by the search for dark matter, but it also affects quantum technology. The team’s demonstration of axion quasiparticles’ complicated dynamics and coherent behavior cleared the stage for future technological advances. Martin and his colleagues are already investigating nonlinear optical phenomena made possible by the peculiar light-axion connection.
The “Quantum Prairie,” a network of businesses and research institutes committed to developing quantum information technology, is also growing as a result of this work. The distinction between visible phenomena and abstract theory is becoming increasingly hazy as researchers continue to develop their understanding of quasiparticles and improve their experimental setups.
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