Hunting Dark Matter
Location
Science Center Perlik Commons
Document Type
Poster - Open Access
Start Date
5-13-2022 12:00 PM
End Date
5-13-2022 2:00 PM
Abstract
In our Universe, Galaxies are rotating with such speed that the gravity created by their observable matter could not possibly hold them together. They should have been dismantled long ago, which causes scientists to believe that something that is not visible is at work. They think something we have yet to discover directly is giving these galaxies extra mass, making the extra gravity they need to stay and not fall apart. This unknown matter is called dark matter because it cannot be seen. The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic physics (GNOME) is an experiment designed to detect Dark Matter using a network of optical magnetometers which are distributed around the world, such as Oberlin. In Oberlin, we are developing an analysis method aimed at a specific category of proposed dark matter structures: Boson stars. Our research is based on the theoretical scenario that dark matter constituent is an ultra-light axion-like particle that forms a Boson star. We search the data for patterns of signals propagating through the network consistent with Boson stars. A characteristic of these stars' fields is that they can form patterns and structures based on theoretical models. Therefore, the density of dark matter could be concentrated in many different regions resulting in Bosons stars that are smaller than a galaxy but larger than Earth. If the Earth passes through one of these stars, it would be detected by the GNOME network and could cause transient characteristic signal patterns in the magnetometers. The signals are related to each other in specific ways that depend on the speed and direction the wall is moving in and when it reaches each location. The analysis method is divided into two stages: The coincidence and the consistency check. The first stage's goal is to locate any transient oscillatory signals in each station that could represent an "event" where the Earth passes through a Boson star. Potential events then undergo a coincidence check to determine if a similar signal was located simultaneously and with the same frequency in at least three other stations in the network. Events that pass the coincidence check are sent to the second stage. As a result, after all these steps, we realize whether our data is consistent with other stations around the world or we found something odd, which can indicate the existence dark matter. Based on the convincing theory that the dark matter constituent is the ultra-light axion-like particle, we expect to find a transient signal that proves the existence of dark matter.
Keywords:
Dark Matter, Boson Star, Coincidence check, Consistency check
Recommended Citation
Nikfar, Ehsanullah, "Hunting Dark Matter" (2022). Research Symposium. 11.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2022/posters/11
Project Mentor(s)
Jason Stalnaker, Physics
2022
Hunting Dark Matter
Science Center Perlik Commons
In our Universe, Galaxies are rotating with such speed that the gravity created by their observable matter could not possibly hold them together. They should have been dismantled long ago, which causes scientists to believe that something that is not visible is at work. They think something we have yet to discover directly is giving these galaxies extra mass, making the extra gravity they need to stay and not fall apart. This unknown matter is called dark matter because it cannot be seen. The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic physics (GNOME) is an experiment designed to detect Dark Matter using a network of optical magnetometers which are distributed around the world, such as Oberlin. In Oberlin, we are developing an analysis method aimed at a specific category of proposed dark matter structures: Boson stars. Our research is based on the theoretical scenario that dark matter constituent is an ultra-light axion-like particle that forms a Boson star. We search the data for patterns of signals propagating through the network consistent with Boson stars. A characteristic of these stars' fields is that they can form patterns and structures based on theoretical models. Therefore, the density of dark matter could be concentrated in many different regions resulting in Bosons stars that are smaller than a galaxy but larger than Earth. If the Earth passes through one of these stars, it would be detected by the GNOME network and could cause transient characteristic signal patterns in the magnetometers. The signals are related to each other in specific ways that depend on the speed and direction the wall is moving in and when it reaches each location. The analysis method is divided into two stages: The coincidence and the consistency check. The first stage's goal is to locate any transient oscillatory signals in each station that could represent an "event" where the Earth passes through a Boson star. Potential events then undergo a coincidence check to determine if a similar signal was located simultaneously and with the same frequency in at least three other stations in the network. Events that pass the coincidence check are sent to the second stage. As a result, after all these steps, we realize whether our data is consistent with other stations around the world or we found something odd, which can indicate the existence dark matter. Based on the convincing theory that the dark matter constituent is the ultra-light axion-like particle, we expect to find a transient signal that proves the existence of dark matter.
