Search for the Effect of Massive Bodies on Atomic Spectra and Constraints on Yukawa-Type Interactions of Scalar Particles

We propose a new method to search for hypothetical scalar particles that have feeble interactions with standard-model particles. In the presence of massive bodies, these interactions produce a nonzero Yukawa-type scalar-field magnitude. Using radio-frequency spectroscopy data of atomic dysprosium, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2016-12, Vol.117 (27), p.271601-271601, Article 271601
Main Authors: Leefer, N, Gerhardus, A, Budker, D, Flambaum, V V, Stadnik, Y V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dysprosium
Interaction parameters
Nucleons
Particle physics
Photons
Scalars
Searching
Spectroscopy
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Summary:We propose a new method to search for hypothetical scalar particles that have feeble interactions with standard-model particles. In the presence of massive bodies, these interactions produce a nonzero Yukawa-type scalar-field magnitude. Using radio-frequency spectroscopy data of atomic dysprosium, as well as atomic clock spectroscopy data, we constrain the Yukawa-type interactions of a scalar field with the photon, electron, and nucleons for a range of scalar-particle masses corresponding to length scales >10  cm. In the limit as the scalar-particle mass m_{ϕ}→0, our derived limits on the Yukawa-type interaction parameters are Λ_{γ}≳8×10^{19}  GeV, Λ_{e}≳1.3×10^{19}  GeV, and Λ_{N}≳6×10^{20}  GeV. Our measurements also constrain combinations of interaction parameters, which cannot otherwise be probed with traditional anomalous-force measurements. We suggest further measurements to improve on the current level of sensitivity.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.117.271601