Conveners
Ultralight Dark Matter
- Hong Ma (BNL)
The LIGO detection of gravitational waves has opened a new window on the universe. I will discuss how the process of superradiance, combined with gravitational wave measurements, makes black holes into nature's laboratories to search for new light bosons, from axions to dark photons. When a bosonic particle's Compton wavelength is comparable to the horizon size of a black hole, superradiance...
We propose using interferometry of circularly polarized light as a mechanism by which to test for axion dark matter. These interferometers differ from standard interferometers only by the addition of a few quarter waveplates to preserve the polarization of light upon reflection. We show that using current technology, interferometers can probe new regions of axion parameter space up to a couple...
I will argue that axion dark matter may be detectable through narrow radio lines emitted from neutron stars. Neutron star magnetospheres host both a strong magnetic field and a plasma frequency that increases towards the neutron star surface. As the axions pass through the magnetosphere, they can resonantly convert into radio photons when the plasma frequency matches the axion mass, making the...
