Title: The axion dark matter search at CAPP: a comprehensive approach

Speaker: Professor Yannis K. Semertzidis

Director of Center for Axion and Precision Physics, IBS

Korea Advanced Inst. of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Time: 10:00 AM, May 23rd (Monday)

Place: Main Building B326，EPC

Abstract:

Axions are the result of a dynamic field, similar to Higgs field, invented to solve the so-called Strong CP-problem, i.e., why the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron and proton has not been observed so far even though the theory of QCD requires otherwise. Axions as dark matter can be thought of as an oscillatory field interacting extremely weakly with normal matter other than gravitationally. The oscillation frequency is unknown, it can be anywhere between f = 200MHz to 200GHz and it’s expected to be a very narrow line, about df/f=10^-6. A very strong magnetic field can be used to convert part of that field into a very weak electric field oscillating at the same frequency as the axion field. In the coming years we plan to develop our experimental sensitivity to either observe or refute the axions as a viable dark matter candidate. That approach includes the development of ultra strong magnets, high quality resonators in the presence of strong B-fields, new resonator geometries, low noise cryo-amplifiers and new techniques of detecting axions. China can play a significant role in this experiment by building high volume toroidal magnets with an average B-field of about 5T.