Physicists have developed a method to search for elementary particles using quantum technology

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and the Helmholtz Institute in Mainz used

spin amplifier to limit hypothetical oscillations of axions within the “axion window”. This will help to explore a large number of parameters of hypothetical particles.

The exchange of axions between fermions leads toscientists explain the exotic dipole-dipole interaction that can be detected in laboratory experiments. In the work, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the researchers used a large set of polarized electrons from rubidium-87 and polarized nuclear spins from xenon-129 as two types of fermions.

Experimental setup. Image: Yuanhong Wang et al., Physical Review Letters

During the exchange of axions, rubidium generatesexotic signal on the nuclear spins of the xeon, and they are already used for resonant search for the signal.  The researchers showed that the long-lived spins of xenon-129 act as a quantum preamplifier, capable of increasing the exotic signal by more than 40 times for the axion mass within the "axion window" (0.03 meV to 1 meV). 

Increasing the sensitivity in the desired range, as the authors of the work believe, increases the chances of studying elementary particles.

Axion - hypothetical neutralpseudoscalar elementary particle predicted by the Peccei-Quinn theory. If axions exist and have low mass in a certain range, they are of interest as a possible component of cold dark matter. These particles could hold the key to explaining some of the deepest mysteries of our Universe, such as dark matter and charge parity violation in the strong interactions.

Several recent theories have predicted that the massesaxions most likely lie in the “axion window” (0.01 meV – 1 meV). However, existing laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations mostly look for these particles outside the desired range.  

Scientists note that the method of usingThe quantum "amplifier" can also be used to search for other elementary particles outside the Standard Model. For example, new dark photons with spin 1.

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