Axionlike Particle Detection in Alkali-Noble-Gas Haloscopes

Abstract

Revealing the essence of dark matter (DM) and dark energy is essential for understanding our universe. Ultralight (rest energy $<$10\,eV) bosonic particles, including pseudoscalar axions and axionlike particles (ALPs) have emerged among leading candidates to explain the composition of DM and searching for them has become an important part of precision-measurement science. Ultrahigh-sensitivity alkali-noble-gas based comagnetometers and magnetometers are being used as powerful haloscopes, i.e., devices designed to search for DM present in the galactic halo. A broad variety of such devices include clock-comparison comagnetometers, self-compensating comagnetometers, hybrid-spin-resonance magnetometer, spin-exchange-relaxation-free magnetometers, nuclear magnetic-resonance magnetometers, Floquet magnetometers, masers, as well as devices like the cosmic axion spin-precession experiment (CASPEr) using liquid $^{129}$Xe, prepolarized via spin-exchange optical pumping with rubidium atoms. The combination of alkali metal and noble gas allows one to take the best advantage of the complementary properties of the two spin systems.
This review summarizes the operational principles, experimental setups and the successful explorations of new physics using these haloscopes. Additionally, some limiting factors are pointed out for further improvement.