An international team of scientists proposes sending atomic clocks into space to detect and understand the enigmatic dark matter.
Dark matter is a mystery that has plagued researchers for decades. This unknown essence represents 85% of all matter in the Universe, and although its effects can be observed, it has not been directly detected. Experts from the University of Delaware, the University of California and the University of Tokyo are collaborating to solve this long-standing mystery by sending atomic clocks into space.
The research, “Direct detection of Sun-bound ultralight dark matter with space-based quantum sensors,” which is published in Nature Astronomy, plans to send two atomic clocks deep into the solar system to search for wave-shaped ultralight dark matter. properties that may affect the operation of watches.
What are atomic clocks?
Atomic clocks tell time by measuring the rapid oscillations of atoms and are already used in space to enable the Global Positioning System (GPS). In the future, space clocks could help navigate spacecraft and provide links to Earth-based roosts.
All clocks tell time using some sort of repetitive process, such as an oscillating pendulum. However, atomic clocks use laser technology to manipulate and measure the oscillations of atoms which are extremely fast. For example, a clock based on strontium atoms ticks 430 trillion times per second, and atomic clocks are far more accurate than any mechanical device.
Historically, atomic clocks can cover the size of a pair of tables, but recent advances in accuracy and portability mean that some atomic clocks can now fit in a van, with NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock even more small, about the size of a toaster. .
However, over the last 15 years different types of clocks have been developed, based on much higher frequencies, such as optical clocks that are orders of magnitude more accurate and will not lose a second of time over billions of years
Marianna Safronova, a physicist at the University of Delaware, said: “Now we have wearable watches, and it’s fun to think about how you would go about sending high-precision watches into space and establish what great things we can do.
“It’s a beautiful synergy between a quantum expert and particle theorists, and we’re working on new ideas at the intersection of these two fields.”
Developing the mysterious properties of dark matter
The proposed research would send space clocks closer to the Sun than to Mercury, an area they believe has more dark matter to detect. These include atomic, nuclear and molecular clocks that are currently being developed and are also known as quantum sensors.
Safronova explained: “This was inspired by Parker Solar Probe, the ongoing NASA mission that sent a spacecraft closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before. It has nothing to do with quantum sensors or clocks , but it showed that you could send a satellite very close to the Sun, detecting new conditions and making discoveries. That’s much closer to the Sun than what we’re proposing here.”
The purpose of the study is to investigate ultralight dark matter, which researchers believe could make a large halo-like region that is bound to the Sun. Ultralight dark matter could cause the energies of atoms to oscillate, which will change the ticking of the clock, although this effect depends on the atoms used in the clock. The researchers then monitor the differences in the clocks to look for dark matter.
“It has very specific properties and is a very specific dark matter that is detectable by clocks. What is observable is the ratio of these two clock frequencies. This relationship should oscillate if this dark matter exists,” Safronova said.
He explained that nuclear clocks, which are based on nuclear energy levels rather than atomic energy levels, may be the best clock for this research. He is currently participating in a project to build a prototype funded by the European Research Council.