Optomechanical dark matter instrument for direct detection

Abstract

We propose the Optomechanical Dark-matter INstrument (ODIN), based on a new method for the direct detection of low-mass dark matter. We consider dark matter interacting with superfluid helium in an optomechanical cavity. Using an effective field theory, we calculate the rate at which dark matter scatters off phonons in a highly populated, driven acoustic mode of the cavity. This scattering process deposits a phonon into a second acoustic mode in its ground state. The deposited phonon ($\mu$eV range) is then converted to a photon (eV range) via an optomechanical interaction with a pump laser. This photon can be efficiently detected, providing a means to sensitively probe keV scale dark matter. We provide realistic estimates of the backgrounds and discuss the technical challenges associated with such an experiment. We calculate projected limits on dark matter-nucleon interactions for dark matter masses ranging from 0.5 to 300 keV and estimate that a future device could probe cross-sections as low as $\mathcal{O}(10^{-32})$ cm${}^2$.

7 pages, 4 figures + appendices; v2: journal version

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• Phononic Crystals in Superfluid Thin-Film Helium
• Time crystal optomechanics
• Photonic crystal cavities based on suspended yttrium iron garnet nanobeams
• Torsion Balance Experiments Enable Direct Detection of Sub-eV Dark Matter
• A cryogenic chamber setup for superfluid helium experiments with optical fiber and electrical access
• Photonic Freeze-In
• Optomechanical Accelerometer Search for Ultralight Dark Matter