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Atomic Observables Induced by Cosmic Fields

Sebastian Lahs, Daniel Comparat, Fiona Kirk, Benjamin Roberts

TL;DR

The paper develops a comprehensive, model-agnostic framework to translate couplings between ultralight cosmic fields and fermions into measurable atomic and nuclear observables. By deriving nonrelativistic interaction potentials for scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, axial-vector, and tensor couplings, it maps each coupling to direct energy shifts and to induced electric/magnetic dipole, quadrupole, Schiff, and anapole moments. It highlights how observables depend on operator rank and symmetry properties, and it emphasizes resonance and heavy-atom enhancements as pathways to experimental sensitivity. The work provides a unifying guide for using atomic clocks, magnetometry, and nuclear-structure probes to constrain or discover new cosmic-field interactions with potential implications for dark matter and beyond-Standard-Model physics.

Abstract

The existence of cosmic fields made from yet unknown light bosons is predicted in many extensions to the Standard Model. They are especially of interest as possible constituents of dark matter. To detect such light and weakly interacting fields, atomic precision measurements offer one of the most sensitive platforms. In this work, we derive which atomic observables are sensitive to what kind of cosmic field couplings. For this we consider fields that couple either through scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, axial vector, or tensor couplings. We derive the corresponding non relativistic atomic potentials. Based on their symmetry properties, these can induce direct energy shifts or induce atomic electric dipole, magnetic dipole, electric quadrupole as well as nuclear Schiff and anapole moments.

Atomic Observables Induced by Cosmic Fields

TL;DR

The paper develops a comprehensive, model-agnostic framework to translate couplings between ultralight cosmic fields and fermions into measurable atomic and nuclear observables. By deriving nonrelativistic interaction potentials for scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, axial-vector, and tensor couplings, it maps each coupling to direct energy shifts and to induced electric/magnetic dipole, quadrupole, Schiff, and anapole moments. It highlights how observables depend on operator rank and symmetry properties, and it emphasizes resonance and heavy-atom enhancements as pathways to experimental sensitivity. The work provides a unifying guide for using atomic clocks, magnetometry, and nuclear-structure probes to constrain or discover new cosmic-field interactions with potential implications for dark matter and beyond-Standard-Model physics.

Abstract

The existence of cosmic fields made from yet unknown light bosons is predicted in many extensions to the Standard Model. They are especially of interest as possible constituents of dark matter. To detect such light and weakly interacting fields, atomic precision measurements offer one of the most sensitive platforms. In this work, we derive which atomic observables are sensitive to what kind of cosmic field couplings. For this we consider fields that couple either through scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, axial vector, or tensor couplings. We derive the corresponding non relativistic atomic potentials. Based on their symmetry properties, these can induce direct energy shifts or induce atomic electric dipole, magnetic dipole, electric quadrupole as well as nuclear Schiff and anapole moments.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 26 sections, 63 equations, 1 figure, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Interaction Lagrangians
  3. Cosmic Fields
  4. Atomic Interaction Potentials
  5. Interpretation of the Interaction Potentials
  6. Induced Observables
  7. Energy Shifts
  8. The Induced Electric Dipole Moment
  9. Induced Magnetic Dipole and Electric Quadrupole Moments
  10. Induced Magnetic Dipole and Electric Quadrupole Moments
  11. Induced Nuclear Moments
  12. The Nuclear Anapole Mmoment
  13. Conclusion
  14. Acknowledgments
  15. Derivation of the $P$, $T$-Symmetry Dependencies of scalar, vector, and tensor interactions
  16. ...and 11 more sections

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: Illustration of the different types of Cosmic fields discussed here. Type I fields are completely static on terrestrial scales. They can be observed through their polarizations that also change over time due to the relative movement between the lab and the reference frame the field is fixed in. Type II fields are plane waves on the length scales of the experiment. Type III fields are sourced from local macroscopic test masses.