Bingrong Yu, Cornell University, [HET Seminar] Quantum Forces in the Standard Model and Dark Sector

Thursday 9 Jul 2026, 11:00 → 13:00 US/Eastern

Small Seminar Room

https://bnl.zoomgov.com/j/16010362754?pwd=Z1l1SS9JUDlyR1hSUHNyaDV1dTZHUT09

Quantum forces are long-range interactions arising from quantum fluctuations of light mediator fields — either fermionic or bosonic — that couple feebly to matter. Despite their weakness, such forces can leave observable imprints in the early Universe and in precision measurements. In this talk, I will discuss quantum forces both within the Standard Model and in the dark sector. First, the Standard Model predicts a unique quantum force mediated by the exchange of two neutrinos. Although extremely weak, this "neutrino force" can manifest in atomic systems and in backgrounds of cosmic, solar, or reactor neutrinos. I will present our recent progress in probing this effect and show that its contribution in atoms may have important implications for precision tests of the Standard Model, including low-energy determinations of the Weinberg angle. I will then turn to quantum forces beyond the Standard Model. In the perturbative regime, I will discuss axion-mediated quantum forces and their implications for axion detection experiments. In the non-perturbative regime, I will show how quantum forces can significantly modify dark matter annihilation and self-interactions beyond the Born approximation, and discuss the resulting implications for cosmology.