An improved synthetic signal injection routine for the Haloscope At Yale Sensitive To Axion Cold dark matter (HAYSTAC).

Microwave cavity haloscopes are among the most sensitive direct detection experiments searching for dark matter axions via their coupling to photons. When the power of the expected microwave signal due to axion-photon conversion is on the order of 10-24 W, having the ability to validate the detector response and analysis procedure by injecting realistic synthetic axion signals becomes helpful. Here, we present a method based on frequency hopping spread spectrum for synthesizing axion signals in a microwave cavity haloscope experiment.

A quantum enhanced search for dark matter axions.

The manipulation of quantum states of light holds the potential to enhance searches for fundamental physics. Only recently has the maturation of quantum squeezing technology coincided with the emergence of fundamental physics searches that are limited by quantum uncertainty. In particular, the quantum chromodynamics axion provides a possible solution to two of the greatest outstanding problems in fundamental physics: the strong-CP (charge-parity) problem of quantum chromodynamics and the unknown nature of dark matter.

First Results from a Microwave Cavity Axion Search at 24 μeV.

We report on the first results from a new microwave cavity search for dark matter axions with masses above 20  μeV. We exclude axion models with two-photon coupling g_{aγγ}≳2×10^{-14}  GeV^{-1} over the range 23.55 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mechanical temporal fluctuation induced distance and force systematic errors in Casimir force experiments.

The basic theory of temporal mechanical fluctuation induced systematic errors in Casimir force experiments is developed and applications of this theory to several experiments is reviewed. This class of systematic error enters in a manner similar to the usual surface roughness correction, but unlike the treatment of surface roughness for which an exact result requires an electromagnetic mode analysis, time dependent fluctuations can be treated exactly, assuming the fluctuation times are much longer than the zero point and thermal fluctuation correlation times of the electromagnetic field between the plates. An experimental method for measuring absolute distance with high bandwidth is also described and measurement data presented.

Casimir probe based upon metallized high Q SiN nanomembrane resonator.

We present the instrumentation and measurement scheme of a new Casimir force probe that bridges Casimir force measurements at microscale and macroscale. A metallized high Q silicon nitride nanomembrane resonator is employed as a sensitive force probe. The high tensile stress present in the nanomembrane not only enhances the quality factor but also maintains high flatness over large area serving as the bottom electrode in a sphere-plane configuration.

Performance of the Los Alamos National Laboratory spallation-driven solid-deuterium ultra-cold neutron source.

In this paper, we describe the performance of the Los Alamos spallation-driven solid-deuterium ultra-cold neutron (UCN) source. Measurements of the cold neutron flux, the very low energy neutron production rate, and the UCN rates and density at the exit from the biological shield are presented and compared to Monte Carlo predictions. The cold neutron rates compare well with predictions from the Monte Carlo code MCNPX and the UCN rates agree with our custom UCN Monte Carlo code.

Limit on the electron electric dipole moment using paramagnetic ferroelectric Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3.

We report on the results of a search for the electron electric dipole moment d(e) using paramagnetic ferroelectric Eu(0.5)Ba(0.5)TiO(3).

Casimir force and in situ surface potential measurements on nanomembranes.

We present Casimir force measurements in a sphere-plate configuration that consists of a high quality nanomembrane resonator and a millimeter sized gold coated sphere. The nanomembrane is fabricated from stoichiometric silicon nitride metallized with gold. A Kelvin probe method is used in situ to image the surface potentials to minimize the distance-dependent residual force.

Note: A high dynamic range, linear response transimpedance amplifier.

We have built a high dynamic range (nine decade) transimpedance amplifier with a linear response. The amplifier uses junction-gate field effect transistors (JFETs) to switch between three different resistors in the feedback of a low input bias current operational amplifier. This allows for the creation of multiple outputs, each with a linear response and a different transimpedance gain.

New experimental limits on non-Newtonian forces in the micrometer range.

We report measurements of the short-range forces between two macroscopic gold-coated plates using a torsion pendulum. The force is measured for separations between 0.7 and 7 μm and is well described by a combination of the Casimir force, including the finite-temperature correction, and an electrostatic force due to patch potentials on the plate surfaces.

Optical heterodyne accelerometry: passively stabilized, fully balanced velocity interferometer system for any reflector.

We formalize the physics of an optical heterodyne accelerometer that allows measurement of low and high velocities from material surfaces under high strain. The proposed apparatus incorporates currently common optical velocimetry techniques used in shock physics, with interferometric techniques developed to self-stabilize and passively balance interferometers in quantum cryptography. The result is a robust telecom-fiber-based velocimetry system insensitive to modal and frequency dispersion that should work well in the presence of decoherent scattering processes, such as from ejecta clouds and shocked surfaces.

A multiferroic material to search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron.

We describe the first-principles design and subsequent synthesis of a new material with the specific functionalities required for a solid-state-based search for the permanent electric dipole moment of the electron. We show computationally that perovskite-structure europium barium titanate should exhibit the required large and pressure-dependent ferroelectric polarization, local magnetic moments and absence of magnetic ordering at liquid-helium temperature. Subsequent synthesis and characterization of Eu(0.

Measurement of the short-range attractive force between Ge plates using a torsion balance.

We have measured the short-range attractive force between crystalline Ge plates, and found contributions from both the Casimir force and an electrical force possibly generated by surface patch potentials. Using a model of surface patch effects that generates an additional force due to a distance dependence of the apparent contact potential, the electrical force was parametrized using data at distances where the Casimir force is relatively small. Extrapolating this model, to provide a correction to the measured force at distances less than 5 microm, shows a residual force that is in agreement, within experimental uncertainty, with five models that have been used to calculate the Casimir force.

First measurement of the neutron beta asymmetry with ultracold neutrons.

We report the first measurement of an angular correlation parameter in neutron beta decay using polarized ultracold neutrons (UCN). We utilize UCN with energies below about 200 neV, which we guide and store for approximately 30 s in a Cu decay volume. The interaction of the neutron magnetic dipole moment with a static 7 T field external to the decay volume provides a 420 neV potential energy barrier to the spin state parallel to the field, polarizing the UCN before they pass through an adiabatic fast passage spin flipper and enter a decay volume, situated within a 1 T field in a 2x2pi solenoidal spectrometer.

Contribution of drifting carriers to the Casimir-Lifshitz and Casimir-Polder interactions with semiconductor materials.

We develop a theory for Casimir-Lifshitz and Casimir-Polder interactions with semiconductor or insulator surfaces that takes into account charge drift in the bulk material through use of the classical Boltzmann equation. We derive frequency-dependent dispersion relations that give the usual Lifshitz results for dielectrics as a limiting case and, in the quasistatic limit, coincide with those recently computed to account for Debye screening in the thermal Lifshitz force with conducting surfaces with small density of carriers.

Invited article: development of high-field superconducting Ioffe magnetic traps.

We describe the design, construction, and performance of three generations of superconducting Ioffe magnetic traps. The first two are low current traps, built from four racetrack shaped quadrupole coils and two solenoid assemblies. Coils are wet wound with multifilament NbTi superconducting wires embedded in epoxy matrices.

Limit on the temporal variation of the fine-structure constant using atomic dysprosium.

Over 8 months, we monitored transition frequencies between nearly degenerate, opposite-parity levels in two isotopes of atomic dysprosium (Dy). These frequencies are sensitive to variation of the fine-structure constant (alpha) due to relativistic corrections of opposite sign for the opposite-parity levels. In this unique system, in contrast to atomic-clock comparisons, the difference of the electronic energies of the opposite-parity levels can be monitored directly utilizing a rf electric-dipole transition between them.

Limit on the electron electric dipole moment in gadolinium-iron garnet.

A new method for the detection of the electron electric dipole moment (EDM) using a solid is described. The method involves the measurement of a voltage induced across the solid by the alignment of the sample's magnetic dipoles in an applied magnetic field, H. A first application of the method to GdIG has resulted in a limit on the electron EDM of 5 x 10(-24)e cm, which is a factor of 40 below the limit obtained from the only previous solid-state EDM experiment.

Thermal noise limitations to force measurements with torsion pendulums: applications to the measurement of the Casimir force and its thermal correction.

A general analysis of thermal noise in torsion pendulums is presented. The specific case where the torsion angle is kept fixed by electronic feedback is analyzed. This analysis is applied to a recent experiment that employed a torsion pendulum to measure the Casimir force.

Determination of the Neutron Lifetime Using Magnetically Trapped Neutrons.

We report progress on an experiment to measure the neutron lifetime using magnetically trapped neutrons. Neutrons are loaded into a 1.1 T deep superconducting Ioffe-type trap by scattering 0.

Low-frequency character of the Casimir force between metallic films.

The frequency spectrum of the finite temperature correction to the Casimir force can be determined by use of the Lifshitz formalism for metallic plates of finite conductivity. We show that the correction for the TE electromagnetic modes is dominated by frequencies so low that the plates cannot be modeled as ideal dielectrics. We also address issues relating to the behavior of electromagnetic fields at the surfaces and within metallic conductors, and calculate the surface modes using appropriate low-frequency metallic boundary conditions.

Kerr effect in liquid helium at temperatures below the superfluid transition.

The electro-optical Kerr effect induced by a slowly varying electric field in liquid helium at temperatures below the lambda point is investigated. The Kerr constant of liquid helium is measured to be (1.43+/-0.