Scientists have used Earth's magnetic field to search for dark matter and detected mysterious signals that may belong to hypothetical dark photons, reports infohub.kz.
Researchers from Kyoto University, Hiroshima University, and Nihon University have developed a groundbreaking method to search for ultralight dark matter particles, turning Earth itself into a giant planetary detector. The scientists utilized the natural resonator formed by the space between the planet's surface and the ionosphere to amplify electromagnetic waves. The study's author, Atsushi Taruya, noted that the Earth-ionosphere cavity naturally amplifies signals in the desired mass range.
The physicists created a theoretical model that accounts for the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere, allowing precise calculations for frequencies up to 30 Hz. The model helped distinguish between signals from two dark matter candidates: hypothetical axions and dark photons. To test the theory, the scientists examined geomagnetic measurement data from 2012 to 2022, obtained from the Eskdalemuir Observatory of the British Geological Survey.
The data analysis established stringent constraints on axion-photon interactions, approximately 100 times more precise than previous ground-based experiments. In the search for dark photons, the scientists recorded several signals whose source remains unknown. The authors emphasize that these candidates require further study and confirmation. The results of the series of studies were published in the journals "Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics" and "Physical Review D".