Search for Axion-like Stars Using the Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic Physics (GNOME)
Location
Science Center: Bent Corridor
Document Type
Poster - Open Access
Start Date
4-28-2023 12:00 PM
End Date
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
Abstract
Astrophysical evidence suggests that more than 80% of matter in the universe is made of material that scientists have never seen. A multitude of theories have been proposed to explain the origin and composition of this so-called dark matter. In the The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers (GNOME) experiment, dark matter is theorized to represent an ultralight particle. The aim of the experiment is to detect the "exotic spin coupling," which are similar to interaction spins in magnetic fields, between elementary particles and axion-like particles. This detection is executed through the utilization of multiple stations across the world through magnetometers through a technique called the excess power analysis. The elimination of the noise and extraction of possible candidates for the fluctuations in the magnetic field from axion-like particles is the main task of the analysis. This study uses the codebase to minimize noise from the received signals, to set thresholds, and to extract possible transient signals from the candidates as a result of coincidence and consistency checks. The current biggest goal for the code is optimization of time. Due to a multitude of time-demanding computational processes involved in the execution of the code, the program runs relatively timely on simulated data, yet not for real data.
Keywords:
Axion stars, GNOME, Physics, Jupyter Notebook
Recommended Citation
Ibragimova, Saida; Tandon, Dhruv; Pearson, Heather; Segura, Perrin; Khamis, Sami; Sulai, Ibrahim; Kimball, Derek Jackson; Stalnaker, Jason; and Nikfar, Ehsanullah, "Search for Axion-like Stars Using the Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic Physics (GNOME)" (2023). Research Symposium. 15.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2023/posters/15
Major
Computer Science; Mathematics
Project Mentor(s)
Jason Stalnaker, Physics and Astronomy
2023
Search for Axion-like Stars Using the Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic Physics (GNOME)
Science Center: Bent Corridor
Astrophysical evidence suggests that more than 80% of matter in the universe is made of material that scientists have never seen. A multitude of theories have been proposed to explain the origin and composition of this so-called dark matter. In the The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers (GNOME) experiment, dark matter is theorized to represent an ultralight particle. The aim of the experiment is to detect the "exotic spin coupling," which are similar to interaction spins in magnetic fields, between elementary particles and axion-like particles. This detection is executed through the utilization of multiple stations across the world through magnetometers through a technique called the excess power analysis. The elimination of the noise and extraction of possible candidates for the fluctuations in the magnetic field from axion-like particles is the main task of the analysis. This study uses the codebase to minimize noise from the received signals, to set thresholds, and to extract possible transient signals from the candidates as a result of coincidence and consistency checks. The current biggest goal for the code is optimization of time. Due to a multitude of time-demanding computational processes involved in the execution of the code, the program runs relatively timely on simulated data, yet not for real data.
