The scientists behind the MAGIS-100 experiment aim to use state-of-the-art lasers to shed light on ultralight dark matter.
A state-of-the-art experiment at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is one step closer to collecting experimental data.Fermilab has announced that it has completed construction of a laser laboratory required to house its advanced laser systems.
These will allow it to run the experiment’s 328 feet atom interferometer, with commissioning expected by 2028.The experiment, called the Matter-wave Atomic Gradiometer Interferometric Sensor, or MAGIS-100, will investigate a previously unexplored region of mass that could shed light on mysterious dark matter. The world’s largest vertical atom interferometerDark matter accounts for roughly 85 percent of all matter in the universe. Though it has never been directly observed, scientists know it exists because of its gravitational influence on galaxies and star clusters.The MAGIS-100 experiment is part of a collaboration involving the DoE, Stanford University, Northwestern University, and eight other research institutions in the US and the UK.According to Fermilab, the interferometer will occupy a 328 feet shaft at its facilities. This was used years ago for access to underground experiments. Once fully built, MAGIS-100 will be the world’s largest vertical atom interferometer.In a press statement, Fermilab announced that construction of a laser lab is complete, which will house the high-power laser infrastructure required to operate the interferometer. Construction began in 2023.“Finishing the laser lab marks completion of our first major project construction,” Jim Kowalkowski, MAGIS-100 project manager, explained in the statement. “Now we’re moving experimental equipment into the laser lab; we’re doing a lot of testing; we’re characterizing different components to understand any problems and correct them if we can. A lot has to happen.”Building with extreme accuracy in mindThe experiment will see strontium atom clouds colder than outer space dropped into the 328 feet shaft at FermiLab. Carefully timed laser pulses will then function as beam splitters and mirrors. This will split each cloud into two before bringing them back together again.“Similar to what occurs when two rocks are thrown into a pool and the waves interfere with each other, any disturbance in one path will show up as an interference pattern on a camera lens,” the Fermilab statement explains.The interferometer will be so precise that it will be capable of detecting minuscule changes in gravitational fields. The scientists behind the experiment aim to stimulate interactions between theorized particles of dark matter, called axions, and regular matter, in the form of electrons. By detecting these interactions with the extremely precise interferometer, they hope to shed light on ultralight dark matter.First, they must test the new state-of-the-art laser lab and ensure it is aligned to extreme precision. “The alignment of each component must be extremely accurate,” said Dylan Temples, a researcher at Fermilab. “Even small vibrations or strain in the table on which the elements are set up might lead to noise or interference that could seriously impact the experiment.”
Astrophysics Atom Interferometer Dark Matter Interferometer Laser U.S.
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