Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI

N. J. Ayres; G. Bison; K. Bodek; V. Bondar; T. Bouillaud; E. Chanel; P. J. Chiu; B. Clement; C. B. Crawford; M. Daum; C. B. Doorenbos; S. Emmenegger; M. Fertl; P. Flaux; W. C. Griffith; P. G. Harris; N. Hild; M. Kasprzak; K. Kirch; V. Kletzl; P. A. Koss; J. Krempel; B. Lauss; T. Lefort; P. Mohanmurthy; O. Naviliat-Cuncic; D. Pais; F. M. Piegsa; G. Pignol; M. Rawlik; I. Rienäcker; D. Ries; S. Roccia; D. Rozpedzik; P. Schmidt-Wellenburg; N. Severijns; B. Shen; K. Svirina; R. Tavakoli Dinani; J. A. Thorne; S. Touati; A. Weis; E. Wursten; N. Yazdandoost; J. Zejma; N. Ziehl; G. Zsigmond

doi:10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3

Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI

N. J. Ayres
, G. Bison
, K. Bodek
, V. Bondar
, T. Bouillaud
, E. Chanel
, P. J. Chiu
, B. Clement
, C. B. Crawford
, M. Daum
, C. B. Doorenbos
, S. Emmenegger
, M. Fertl
, P. Flaux
, W. C. Griffith
, P. G. Harris
, N. Hild
, M. Kasprzak
, K. Kirch
, V. Kletzl

P. A. Koss, J. Krempel, B. Lauss, T. Lefort, P. Mohanmurthy, O. Naviliat-Cuncic, D. Pais, F. M. Piegsa, G. Pignol, M. Rawlik, I. Rienäcker, D. Ries, S. Roccia, D. Rozpedzik, P. Schmidt-Wellenburg, N. Severijns, B. Shen, K. Svirina, R. Tavakoli Dinani, J. A. Thorne, S. Touati, A. Weis, E. Wursten, N. Yazdandoost, J. Zejma, N. Ziehl, G. Zsigmond

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report on a search for a new, short-range, spin-dependent interaction using a modified version of the experimental apparatus used to measure the permanent neutron electric dipole moment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. This interaction, which could be mediated by axion-like particles, concerned the unpolarized nucleons (protons and neutrons) near the material surfaces of the apparatus and polarized ultracold neutrons stored in vacuum. The dominant systematic uncertainty resulting from magnetic-field gradients was controlled to an unprecedented level of approximately 4 pT cm⁻¹ using an array of optically-pumped cesium vapor magnetometers and magnetic-field maps independently recorded using a dedicated measurement device. No signature of a theoretically predicted new interaction was found, and we set a new limit on the product of the scalar and the pseudoscalar couplings g s g p λ 2 < 8.3 × 10 − 28 m² (95% C.L.) in a range of 5 µm < λ < 25 mm for the monopole-dipole interaction. This new result confirms and improves our previous limit by a factor of 2.7 and provides the current tightest limit obtained with free neutrons.

Original language	English
Article number	103012
Journal	New Journal of Physics
Volume	25
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3
State	Published - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.

Funding

We acknowledge the excellent support provided by the PSI technical groups and by various services of the collaborating universities and research laboratories. In particular, we acknowledge with gratitude the long term outstanding technical support by F Burri and M Meier. We thank the UCN source operation group BSQ for their support. We acknowledge financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation through Project Nos. 117696, 137664, 144473, 157079, 172626, 126562, 169596, 178951 (all PSI), 181996 (Bern), 162574 and 172639 (both ETH). The group from Jagiellonian University Cracow acknowledges the support from the National Science Center, Poland, through Grant Nos. UMO-2015/18/M/ST2/00056, UMO-2020/37/B/ST2/02349 and 2018/30/M/ST2/00319, as well as by the Excellence Initiative—Research University Program at the Jagiellonian University. This work was supported by the Research Foundation-Flanders (BE) under Grant No. G.0D04.21 N. We acknowledge the support from the DFG (DE) on PTB core facility center of ultra-low magnetic field KO 5321/3-1 and TR 408/11-1. We acknowledge funding provided by the Institute of Physics Belgrade through a grant by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. This work is also supported by Sigma Xi Grants # G2017100190747806 and # G2019100190747806, and by the award of the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (SERI-FCS) # 2015.0594.

Funders	Funder number
Jagiellonian University
SERI-FCS	2015.0594
Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships
Sigma Xia	G2017100190747806, G2019100190747806
Sigma Xia
Institute of Physics Belgrade
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	KO 5321/3-1, TR 408/11-1
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung	172626, 117696, 181996, 162574, 137664, 126562, 172639, 144473, 157079, 178951, 169596
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Narodowe Centrum Nauki	UMO-2015/18/M/ST2/00056, 2018/30/M/ST2/00319, UMO-2020/37/B/ST2/02349
Narodowe Centrum Nauki
Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja

Keywords

axion
axion-like particle
beyond Standard Model physics
dark matter

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Physics and Astronomy

Access to Document

10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3

Cite this

Ayres, N. J., Bison, G., Bodek, K., Bondar, V., Bouillaud, T., Chanel, E., Chiu, P. J., Clement, B., Crawford, C. B., Daum, M., Doorenbos, C. B., Emmenegger, S., Fertl, M., Flaux, P., Griffith, W. C., Harris, P. G., Hild, N., Kasprzak, M., Kirch, K., ... Zsigmond, G. (2023). Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI. New Journal of Physics, 25(10), Article 103012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3

@article{3111024b8add454b9e80cad4094f0155,

title = "Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI",

abstract = "We report on a search for a new, short-range, spin-dependent interaction using a modified version of the experimental apparatus used to measure the permanent neutron electric dipole moment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. This interaction, which could be mediated by axion-like particles, concerned the unpolarized nucleons (protons and neutrons) near the material surfaces of the apparatus and polarized ultracold neutrons stored in vacuum. The dominant systematic uncertainty resulting from magnetic-field gradients was controlled to an unprecedented level of approximately 4 pT cm−1 using an array of optically-pumped cesium vapor magnetometers and magnetic-field maps independently recorded using a dedicated measurement device. No signature of a theoretically predicted new interaction was found, and we set a new limit on the product of the scalar and the pseudoscalar couplings g s g p λ 2 < 8.3 × 10 − 28 m2 (95\% C.L.) in a range of 5 µm < λ < 25 mm for the monopole-dipole interaction. This new result confirms and improves our previous limit by a factor of 2.7 and provides the current tightest limit obtained with free neutrons.",

keywords = "axion, axion-like particle, beyond Standard Model physics, dark matter",

author = "Ayres, \{N. J.\} and G. Bison and K. Bodek and V. Bondar and T. Bouillaud and E. Chanel and Chiu, \{P. J.\} and B. Clement and Crawford, \{C. B.\} and M. Daum and Doorenbos, \{C. B.\} and S. Emmenegger and M. Fertl and P. Flaux and Griffith, \{W. C.\} and Harris, \{P. G.\} and N. Hild and M. Kasprzak and K. Kirch and V. Kletzl and Koss, \{P. A.\} and J. Krempel and B. Lauss and T. Lefort and P. Mohanmurthy and O. Naviliat-Cuncic and D. Pais and Piegsa, \{F. M.\} and G. Pignol and M. Rawlik and I. Rien{\"a}cker and D. Ries and S. Roccia and D. Rozpedzik and P. Schmidt-Wellenburg and N. Severijns and B. Shen and K. Svirina and \{Tavakoli Dinani\}, R. and Thorne, \{J. A.\} and S. Touati and A. Weis and E. Wursten and N. Yazdandoost and J. Zejma and N. Ziehl and G. Zsigmond",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.",

year = "2023",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3",

language = "English",

volume = "25",

number = "10",

}

Ayres, NJ, Bison, G, Bodek, K, Bondar, V, Bouillaud, T, Chanel, E, Chiu, PJ, Clement, B, Crawford, CB, Daum, M, Doorenbos, CB, Emmenegger, S, Fertl, M, Flaux, P, Griffith, WC, Harris, PG, Hild, N, Kasprzak, M, Kirch, K, Kletzl, V, Koss, PA, Krempel, J, Lauss, B, Lefort, T, Mohanmurthy, P, Naviliat-Cuncic, O, Pais, D, Piegsa, FM, Pignol, G, Rawlik, M, Rienäcker, I, Ries, D, Roccia, S, Rozpedzik, D, Schmidt-Wellenburg, P, Severijns, N, Shen, B, Svirina, K, Tavakoli Dinani, R, Thorne, JA, Touati, S, Weis, A, Wursten, E, Yazdandoost, N, Zejma, J, Ziehl, N & Zsigmond, G 2023, 'Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI', New Journal of Physics, vol. 25, no. 10, 103012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3

TY - JOUR

T1 - Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI

AU - Ayres, N. J.

AU - Bison, G.

AU - Bodek, K.

AU - Bondar, V.

AU - Bouillaud, T.

AU - Chanel, E.

AU - Chiu, P. J.

AU - Clement, B.

AU - Crawford, C. B.

AU - Daum, M.

AU - Doorenbos, C. B.

AU - Emmenegger, S.

AU - Fertl, M.

AU - Flaux, P.

AU - Griffith, W. C.

AU - Harris, P. G.

AU - Hild, N.

AU - Kasprzak, M.

AU - Kirch, K.

AU - Kletzl, V.

AU - Koss, P. A.

AU - Krempel, J.

AU - Lauss, B.

AU - Lefort, T.

AU - Mohanmurthy, P.

AU - Naviliat-Cuncic, O.

AU - Pais, D.

AU - Piegsa, F. M.

AU - Pignol, G.

AU - Rawlik, M.

AU - Rienäcker, I.

AU - Ries, D.

AU - Roccia, S.

AU - Rozpedzik, D.

AU - Schmidt-Wellenburg, P.

AU - Severijns, N.

AU - Shen, B.

AU - Svirina, K.

AU - Tavakoli Dinani, R.

AU - Thorne, J. A.

AU - Touati, S.

AU - Weis, A.

AU - Wursten, E.

AU - Yazdandoost, N.

AU - Zejma, J.

AU - Ziehl, N.

AU - Zsigmond, G.

PY - 2023/10

Y1 - 2023/10

N2 - We report on a search for a new, short-range, spin-dependent interaction using a modified version of the experimental apparatus used to measure the permanent neutron electric dipole moment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. This interaction, which could be mediated by axion-like particles, concerned the unpolarized nucleons (protons and neutrons) near the material surfaces of the apparatus and polarized ultracold neutrons stored in vacuum. The dominant systematic uncertainty resulting from magnetic-field gradients was controlled to an unprecedented level of approximately 4 pT cm−1 using an array of optically-pumped cesium vapor magnetometers and magnetic-field maps independently recorded using a dedicated measurement device. No signature of a theoretically predicted new interaction was found, and we set a new limit on the product of the scalar and the pseudoscalar couplings g s g p λ 2 < 8.3 × 10 − 28 m2 (95% C.L.) in a range of 5 µm < λ < 25 mm for the monopole-dipole interaction. This new result confirms and improves our previous limit by a factor of 2.7 and provides the current tightest limit obtained with free neutrons.

AB - We report on a search for a new, short-range, spin-dependent interaction using a modified version of the experimental apparatus used to measure the permanent neutron electric dipole moment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. This interaction, which could be mediated by axion-like particles, concerned the unpolarized nucleons (protons and neutrons) near the material surfaces of the apparatus and polarized ultracold neutrons stored in vacuum. The dominant systematic uncertainty resulting from magnetic-field gradients was controlled to an unprecedented level of approximately 4 pT cm−1 using an array of optically-pumped cesium vapor magnetometers and magnetic-field maps independently recorded using a dedicated measurement device. No signature of a theoretically predicted new interaction was found, and we set a new limit on the product of the scalar and the pseudoscalar couplings g s g p λ 2 < 8.3 × 10 − 28 m2 (95% C.L.) in a range of 5 µm < λ < 25 mm for the monopole-dipole interaction. This new result confirms and improves our previous limit by a factor of 2.7 and provides the current tightest limit obtained with free neutrons.

KW - axion

KW - axion-like particle

KW - beyond Standard Model physics

KW - dark matter

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85175401456

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85175401456#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3

DO - 10.1088/1367-2630/acfdc3

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85175401456

SN - 1367-2630

VL - 25

JO - New Journal of Physics

JF - New Journal of Physics

IS - 10

M1 - 103012

ER -

Search for an interaction mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons at the PSI

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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