Searching for ultralight dark matter conversion in solar corona using Low Frequency Array data

An, H., Chen, X. , Ge, S., Liu, J. and Luo, Y. (2024) Searching for ultralight dark matter conversion in solar corona using Low Frequency Array data. Nature Communications, 15, 915. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45033-4) (PMID:38291021) (PMCID:PMC10828470)

Abstract

Ultralight dark photons and axions are well-motivated hypothetical dark matter candidates. Both dark photon dark matter and axion dark matter can resonantly convert into electromagnetic waves in the solar corona when their mass is equal to the solar plasma frequency. The resultant electromagnetic waves appear as monochromatic signals within the radio-frequency range with an energy equal to the dark matter mass, which can be detected via radio telescopes for solar observations. Here we show our search for converted monochromatic signals in the observational data collected by the high-sensitivity Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope and establish an upper limit on the kinetic mixing coupling between dark photon dark matter and photon, which can reach values as low as 10−13 within the frequency range of 30 − 80 MHz. This limit represents an improvement of approximately one order of magnitude better than the existing constraint from the cosmic microwave background observation. Additionally, we derive an upper limit on the axion-photon coupling within the same frequency range, which is better than the constraints from Light-Shining-through-a-Wall experiments while not exceeding the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) experiment or other astrophysical bounds.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The work of HA is supported in part by the National Key R and D Program of China under Grants No. 2021YFC2203100 and No. 2017YFA0402204, the NSFC under Grant No. 11975134, and the Tsinghua University Dushi Program No. 53120200422. The work of SG is supported by NSFC under Grant No. 12247147, the International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program, and the Boya Postdoctoral Fellowship of Peking University. The work of JL is supported by NSFC under Grant No. 12075005, 12235001, and by Peking University under startup Grant No. 7101502458.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Chen, Dr Xingyao
• Authors: An, H., Chen, X., Ge, S., Liu, J., and Luo, Y.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Nature Communications
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN (Online): 2041-1723
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024
• First Published: First published in Nature Communications 15: 915
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence