Presented by: Benjamin Safdi, University of California Berkeley

Abstract: The quantum chromodynamics axion is one of the most sought-after beyond the Standard Model particles at present because of its possible connections with the strong-CP problem, dark matter, and ultraviolet physics such as Grand Unification and String Theory. However, axions are notoriously difficult to probe in the laboratory because of their weak couplings to matter. In this talk I will overview multiple recent advances that will help accelerate the search for axions. On the theoretical side, I will present the results of recent simulations of axion dark matter production in the early Universe after the Big Bang that narrow the possible mass range of the axion. I will then describe a novel laboratory detector setup, called ABRACADABRA, that is sensitive to axions connected with Grand Unification. I will show that the up-coming DMRadio project, building off of the successful ABRA-10 cm experiment, will cover some of the most motivated regions of axion parameter space in the coming years. We may soon know if axions exist within the spectrum of fundamental particles.

Host: Tom DeGrand