Search for transient ultralight dark matter signatures with networks of precision measurement devices using a Bayesian statistics method

Abstract

We analyze the prospects of employing a distributed global network of precision measurement devices as a dark matter and exotic physics observatory. In particular, we consider the atomic clocks of the Global Positioning System (GPS), consisting of a constellation of 32 medium-Earth orbit satellites equipped with either Cs or Rb microwave clocks and a number of Earth-based receiver stations, some of which employ highly-stable H-maser atomic clocks. High-accuracy timing data is available for almost two decades. By analyzing the satellite and terrestrial atomic clock data, it is possible to search for transient signatures of exotic physics, such as "clumpy" dark matter and dark energy, effectively transforming the GPS constellation into a 50,000km aperture sensor array. Here we characterize the noise of the GPS satellite atomic clocks, describe the search method based on Bayesian statistics, and test the method using simulated clock data. We present the projected discovery reach using our method, and demonstrate that it can surpass the existing constrains by several order of magnitude for certain models. Our method is not limited in scope to GPS or atomic clock networks, and can also be applied to other networks of precision measurement devices.

arXiv commentSee also Supplementary Information located in ancillary files

References in corpus (52)

• Particle Dark Matter: Evidence, Candidates and Constraints
• Results from a search for dark matter in the complete LUX exposure
• New CAST Limit on the Axion-Photon Interaction
• Cosmic Structure as the Quantum Interference of a Coherent Dark Wave
• First Dark Matter Search Results from the XENON1T Experiment
• A SQUID-based microwave cavity search for dark-matter axions
• FINDCHIRP: an algorithm for detection of gravitational waves from inspiraling compact binaries
• Dark Matter Results from First 98.7-day Data of PandaX-II Experiment
• Final model independent result of DAMA/LIBRA-phase1
• Hunting for topological dark matter with atomic clocks
• Search for Low-Mass WIMPs with SuperCDMS
• Search for an Annual Modulation in a P-type Point Contact Germanium Dark Matter Detector
• Searching for dilaton dark matter with atomic clocks
• Axion Miniclusters and Bose Stars
• New Observables for Direct Detection of Axion Dark Matter
• Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment (CASPEr)
• Annual Modulation of Dark Matter: A Review
• Environmental Dependence of Masses and Coupling Constants
• On the local dark matter density
• Particle Physics from Stars
• Axion dark matter, solitons, and the cusp-core problem
• Can dark matter induce cosmological evolution of the fundamental constants of Nature?
• Search for ultralight scalar dark matter with atomic spectroscopy
• Enhanced effect of temporal variation of the fine structure constant in diatomic molecules
• Searching for dark matter and variation of fundamental constants with laser and maser interferometry
• An excess power statistic for detection of burst sources of gravitational radiation
• Searching for an oscillating massive scalar field as a dark matter candidate using atomic hyperfine frequency comparisons
• Test of special relativity using a fiber network of optical clocks
• Cosmic Structure Formation with Topological Defects
• Q-ball candidates for self-interacting dark matter
• Dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and limits on temporal variation of fundamental constants from atomic clock experiments
• How do you know if you ran through a wall?
• Sound of Dark Matter: Searching for Light Scalars with Resonant-Mass Detectors
• Limits on the temporal variation of the fine structure constant, quark masses and strong interaction from quasar absorption spectra and atomic clock experiments
• Enhanced effects of variation of the fundamental constants in laser interferometers and application to dark matter detection
• Search for domain wall dark matter with atomic clocks on board global positioning system satellites
• XENON100 Dark Matter Results from a Combination of 477 Live Days
• Relativistic effects in two valence electron atoms and ions and the search for variation of the fine structure constant
• Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic (GNOME): Physics Novel scheme for exotic physics searches
• Domain Walls as Dark Energy
• Relativistic effects in Sr, Dy, YbII and YbIII and search for variation of the fine structure constant
• Directional Detection of Dark Matter using Spectroscopy of Crystal Defects
• Parity-violating interactions of cosmic fields with atoms, molecules, and nuclei: Concepts and calculations for laboratory searches and extracting limits
• Limiting P-odd interactions of cosmic fields with electrons, protons and neutrons
• Dark matter scattering on electrons: Accurate calculations of atomic excitations and implications for the DAMA signal
• Searches for topological defect dark matter via non-gravitational signatures
• New solar axion search in CAST with ${}^4$He filling
• Searching for axion stars and Q-balls with a terrestrial magnetometer network
• Dynamics of domain wall networks with junctions
• The sensitivity of hyperfine structure to nuclear radius and quark mass variation
• Extracting dark matter signatures from atomic clock stability measurements
• Ionization of atoms by slow heavy particles, including dark matter

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Advances in Space Quantum Communications
• SAGE: A Proposal for a Space Atomic Gravity Explorer
• Searching for dark matter with an unequal delay interferometer
• Applying the matched-filter technique to the search for dark matter transients with networks of quantum sensors
• Using atomic clocks to detect local dark matter halos
• Precision measurement noise asymmetry and its annual modulation as a dark matter signature
• Search for transient variations of the fine structure constant and dark matter using fiber-linked optical atomic clocks
• Probing Spin-2 Ultralight Dark Matter with Space-based Gravitational Wave Detectors in the mHz Regime
• Multi-messenger astronomy in the new physics modality with GPS constellation
• Star Shearing Season -- Transient Signals in Wave-like Dark Matter Experiments from Black Hole Formation
• Signal-to-noise-ratio and SNR-max detection statistics in template bank searches for exotic physics transients with networks of quantum sensors