Examining Phase Coherence in Ultralight Dark Matter Signals

• Brendan Baird, Electrical Engineering, University of Delaware

• Swati Singh, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware

Obtaining insight into the constituents of dark matter (DM) and their interactions with normal matter has inspired a wide range of large and small-scale experimental efforts. We assume dark matter to be composed of ultralight particles, which behave as a wave.

This research explores two descriptions of the DM field generating signals that detectors on earth would measure: the coherent and incoherent wave models. A coherent source is characterized by particles that oscillate with the same frequency and phase. In the incoherent model, these oscillating particles are out of phase with one another.

Using a graphing utility that I have built using python, we can reconstruct dark matter signals from power spectral density (PSD) models. This tool can be used to compare the generated coherent and incoherent signals to other models for dark matter signals. Our work will help identify production mechanisms for and properties of such dark matter and its interaction with detectors on earth.