Description:

The search for dark matter and for new sources of gravitational waves offers potentially revolutionary opportunities to learn about the fundamental properties of the Universe.  Strong astrophysical evidence indicates that dark matter makes up most of the matter in the Universe, yet its nature remains a great mystery.  The detection of gravitational waves in currently unexplored frequency ranges could provide unique insights into astrophysics and cosmology.  In this colloquium, I will discuss two new techniques for probing dark matter and gravitational waves.  The first method involves precise comparisons of the lengths of cryogenic, vibration-isolated optical resonators.  I will show the results from the first dark matter search using this approach, which improves by up to two orders of magnitude over previous work.  The second method, long-baseline atom interferometry, involves the manipulation and interference of quantum mechanical “atom waves.”  I will describe and present experimental demonstrations of a new approach to atom interferometry—self-correcting atom interferometry—that paves the way for long-baseline atom interferometers to reach their full scientific potential. I will also introduce MAGIS-100, a 100-meter-tall atom interferometer that we and collaborators are currently constructing at Fermilab.

Timothy Kovachy, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University