Physicists come up with a fundamentally new method to search for dark matter

Instead of directly observing dark matter, Japanese scientists observed it by detecting its gravitational pull.

impact on visible matter.A team of researchers from Kyoto University has developed an experimental method for studying ultra-light dark matter using cryogenic millimeter wave sensing technology characterized by low thermal noise.

“We have achieved experimental parametersfor an unexplored range of dark photon dark matter (DPDM) masses using new techniques not previously tested in this area,” explains Shunsuke Adachi, lead author of the study.

It was assumed that the elusive mass of oneDark matter particles are heavier than the mass of a proton. Adachi's team's search for ultra-low dark matter solves an extremely difficult detection problem that has eluded scientists for more than three decades. “Our research in millimeter wave technologies can contribute to the development of advanced telecommunications such as 5G and 6G,” adds the author of the study.

Dedicated millimeter wave receivercooled to −270℃ to suppress thermal noise and accommodate weak conversion photons. This cryogenic receiver is used to search for DPDM with a mass range of about 0.1 meV.

Search for dark photonic dark matter using a cryogenic millimeter wave detector. Credit: KyotoU Global Comms/Shunsuke Adachi

Adachi claims that although his teamdid not find any significant signal in this data set, conducting its experiments under unprecedentedly stringent constraints—more stringent than cosmological ones—they opened up possibilities for the study of dark matter.

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