M. Baryakhtar: Ultralight Particles From the Lab to the Cosmos

Theories that seek to explain the outstanding puzzles of the Standard Model of particle physics often predict ultralight, feebly-interacting particles. These ultralight particles---scalars, axions, and dark photons---are often produced in the early universe. In this talk, I will remark on their evolution over the universe's history and outline a range of novel search strategies that are required for their discovery, from the laboratory to the sky. I will first focus on the early universe, where even a small trace of ultralight scalar fields can be observed through the precision of the cosmic microwave background. Second, I will present my experimental proposals based on dielectric metamaterials, in which axion and dark photon dark matter can efficiently convert to detectable single photons. While an ordered stack provides the deepest dark matter reach, embracing the randomness of a disordered powder allows for a robust, broadband search. Bio can be found here: https://phys.washington.edu/people/masha-baryakhtar