Ultra-sensitive dark matter detectors created

Dark matter makes up regarding 80 percent of the matter in the universe, and its presence is supported by gravitational effects. For example, stars are known to decrease in speed with distance from the center of a galaxy more slowly than Newtonian gravity predicts based on visible mass, indicating the existence of hidden mass. However, all experiments and observations conducted so far have failed to detect the hypothetical dark matter particles.

Quantum detectors operating at ultra-low temperatures are designed to observe dark matter particles directly in the lab. Theory suggests two likely candidates for dark matter: weakly interacting particles and light wave-like particles called axions.

Particles with ultra-weak interactions can be detected through their collisions with ordinary matter. However, whether these collisions can be identified experimentally depends on the mass of the dark matter being sought. Most searches so far have been able to detect dark matter particles weighing between five and 1,000 times more than a hydrogen atom, but it is possible that much lighter dark matter candidates may have been missed.

To detect new particles, the team uses a detector made of superfluid helium-3, cooled to a macroscopic quantum state and equipped with superconducting quantum amplifiers. This allows it to achieve high sensitivity to collisions with dark matter with a mass of 0.01 to several hydrogen atoms. If the dark matter is made of axions, the team uses quantum amplifiers to search for an electrical signal from the decay of axions in a magnetic field.