Physical Society Colloquium

Searching for dark matter and dark energy with mechanical sensors

Swati Singh

Electrical and Computer Engineering & Material Science and Engineering
University of Delaware

When properly engineered, simple quantum systems such as harmonic oscillators or spins can be excellent detectors of feeble forces and fields. Following a general introduction to this fast-growing area of research, I will focus on using optomechanical systems as sensors of weak acceleration and strain fields. Ultralight dark matter coupling to standard model fields and particles would produce a coherent strain or acceleration signal in an elastic solid. I will discuss the feasibility of searching for this signal using various optomechanical systems. I will also show that current mechanical systems have the sensitivity to set new constraints on scalar field candidates for dark energy. Finally, I will briefly overview the promise of quantum noise limited detectors in the search for beyond the standard model physics.