High Energy Physics Seminar

Axion-like particles and Dark Photons are two well-motivated candidates of wave-like dark matter and are the subject of many ongoing experimental searches. Many of these rely on resonance phenomena, either directly in the lab or indirectly in astrophysical environments. We will discuss how the Earth's well-studied ionosphere exhibits features of both of these effects. The weakly-ionised plasma allows for resonant conversion of dark matter to EM radiation. Meanwhile, treating the Earth-Ionosphere region as a 1D cavity driven far off its resonance allows for a consistent calculation of the EM radiation reaching a detector at the Earth's surface. Ultimately, we will show how a small antenna has prospects for establishing world-leading constraints on both dark photons and axion-like particles in a mass range complementary to existing searches.

The talk is in 469 Lauritsen.

Contact theoryinfo@caltech.edu for Zoom link.