0000000000305956
AUTHOR
Maxim Pospelov
showing 12 related works from this author
A Precise Photometric Ratio via Laser Excitation of the Sodium Layer II: Two-photon Excitation Using Lasers Detuned from 589.16 nm and 819.71 nm Reso…
2020
This article is the second in a pair of articles on the topic of the generation of a two-color artificial star (which we term a "laser photometric ratio star," or LPRS) of de-excitation light from neutral sodium atoms in the mesosphere, for use in precision telescopic measurements in astronomy and atmospheric physics, and more specifically for the calibration of measurements of dark energy using type Ia supernovae. The two techniques respectively described in both this and the previous article would each generate an LPRS with a precisely 1:1 ratio of yellow (589/590 nm) photons to near-infrared (819/820 nm) photons produced in the mesosphere. Both techniques would provide novel mechanisms f…
Dark matter scattering on electrons: Accurate calculations of atomic excitations and implications for the DAMA signal
2016
We revisit the WIMP-type dark matter scattering on electrons that results in atomic ionization and can manifest itself in a variety of existing direct-detection experiments. Unlike the WIMP-nucleon scattering, where current experiments probe typical interaction strengths much smaller than the Fermi constant, the scattering on electrons requires a much stronger interaction to be detectable, which in turn requires new light force carriers. We account for such new forces explicitly, by introducing a mediator particle with scalar or vector couplings to dark matter and to electrons. We then perform state-of-the-art numerical calculations of atomic ionization relevant to the existing experiments.…
Long-lived particles at the energy frontier: the MATHUSLA physics case
2019
We examine the theoretical motivations for long-lived particle (LLP) signals at the LHC in a comprehensive survey of Standard Model (SM) extensions. LLPs are a common prediction of a wide range of theories that address unsolved fundamental mysteries such as naturalness, dark matter, baryogenesis and neutrino masses, and represent a natural and generic possibility for physics beyond the SM (BSM). In most cases the LLP lifetime can be treated as a free parameter from the $\mu$m scale up to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limit of $\sim 10^7$m. Neutral LLPs with lifetimes above $\sim$ 100m are particularly difficult to probe, as the sensitivity of the LHC main detectors is limited by challenging …
Edges and Endpoints in 21-cm Observations from Resonant Photon Production
2020
Physical review letters 127(1), 011102 (1-7) (2021). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.011102
Search for newπ0-like particles produced in association with aτ-lepton pair
2014
We report on a search in e^+e^− annihilations for new π^0-like particles produced in association with a τ-lepton pair. These objects, with a similar mass and similar decay modes to π^0 mesons, could provide an explanation for the non-asymptotic behavior of the pion-photon transition form factor observed by the BABAR Collaboration. No significant signal is observed, and limits on the production cross section at the level of 73 fb or 370 fb, depending on the model parameters, are determined at 90% confidence level. These upper limits lie below the cross section values needed to explain the BABAR form factor data.
A precise photometric ratio via laser excitation of the sodium layer - I. One-photon excitation using 342.78 nm light
2020
The largest uncertainty on measurements of dark energy using type Ia supernovae is presently due to systematics from photometry; specifically to the relative uncertainty on photometry as a function of wavelength in the optical spectrum. We show that a precise constraint on relative photometry between the visible and near-infrared can be achieved in upcoming surveys (such as in LSST at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory) via a mountaintop-located laser source tuned to the 342.78 nm vacuum excitation wavelength of neutral sodium atoms. Using a high-power (500 W) laser modified from laser guide star studies, this excitation will produce an artificial star (which we term a "laser photometric ratio s…
Sensitivity of EDM experiments in paramagnetic atoms and molecules to hadronic CP violation
2020
Experiments searching for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron $d_e$ utilise atomic/molecular states with one or more uncompensated electron spins, and these paramagnetic systems have recently achieved remarkable sensitivity to $d_e$. If the source of $CP$ violation resides entirely in the hadronic sector, the two-photon exchange processes between electrons and the nucleus induce $CP$-odd semileptonic interactions, parametrised by the Wilson coefficient $C_{SP}$, and provide the dominant source of EDMs in paramagnetic systems instead of $d_e$. We evaluate the $C_{SP}$ coefficients induced by the leading hadronic sources of $CP$ violation, namely nucleon EDMs and $CP$-odd pion-nu…
Physics beyond colliders at CERN: beyond the Standard Model working group report
2019
The Physics Beyond Colliders initiative is an exploratory study aimed at exploiting the full scientific potential of the CERN's accelerator complex and scientific infrastructures through projects complementary to the LHC and other possible future colliders. These projects will target fundamental physics questions in modern particle physics. This document presents the status of the proposals presented in the framework of the Beyond Standard Model physics working group, and explore their physics reach and the impact that CERN could have in the next 10–20 years on the international landscape.
Nuclear structure with radioactive muonic atoms
2018
Muonic atoms have been used to extract the most accurate nuclear charge radii based on the detection of X-rays from the muonic cascades. Most stable and a few unstable isotopes have been investigated with muonic atom spectroscopy techniques. A new research project recently started at the Paul Scherrer Institut aims to extend the highresolution muonic atom spectroscopy for the precise determination of nuclear charge radii and other nuclear structure properties of radioactive isotopes. The challenge to combine the high-energy muon beam with small quantity of stopping mass is being addressed by developing the concept of stopping the muon in a high-density, a high-pressure hydrogen cell and sub…
Measurement of the quadrupole moment of Re185 and Re187 from the hyperfine structure of muonic X rays
2020
The hyperfine splitting of the 5g→4f transitions in muonic Re185,187 has been measured using high resolution high purity germanium detectors and compared to state-of-the-art atomic theoretical predictions. The spectroscopic quadrupole moment has been extracted using modern fitting procedures and compared to the values available in literature obtained from muonic x rays of natural rhenium. The extracted values of the nuclear spectroscopic quadrupole moment are 2.07(5) b and 1.94(5) b, respectively for Re185 and Re187.
Searching for axion stars and $Q$-balls with a terrestrial magnetometer network
2018
Light (pseudo-)scalar fields are promising candidates to be the dark matter in the Universe. Under certain initial conditions in the early Universe and/or with certain types of self-interactions, they can form compact dark-matter objects such as axion stars or Q-balls. Direct encounters with such objects can be searched for by using a global network of atomic magnetometers. It is shown that for a range of masses and radii not ruled out by existing observations, the terrestrial encounter rate with axion stars or Q-balls can be sufficiently high (at least once per year) for a detection. Furthermore, it is shown that a global network of atomic magnetometers is sufficiently sensitive to pseudos…
Search for topological defect dark matter with a global network of optical magnetometers
2021
Ultralight bosons such as axion-like particles are viable candidates for dark matter. They can form stable, macroscopic field configurations in the form of topological defects that could concentrate the dark matter density into many distinct, compact spatial regions that are small compared with the Galaxy but much larger than the Earth. Here we report the results of the search for transient signals from the domain walls of axion-like particles by using the global network of optical magnetometers for exotic (GNOME) physics searches. We search the data, consisting of correlated measurements from optical atomic magnetometers located in laboratories all over the world, for patterns of signals p…