Probing Stochastic Ultralight Dark Matter with Space-based Gravitational-Wave Interferometers

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yao, Yue-Hui, Tang, Yong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909392024109056
author Yao, Yue-Hui
Tang, Yong
author_facet Yao, Yue-Hui
Tang, Yong
contents Ultralight particles are theoretically well-motivated dark matter candidates. In the vicinity of the solar system, these ultralight particles can be described as a superposition of plane waves, resulting in a stochastic field with sizable amplitude fluctuations on scales determined by the velocity dispersion of dark matter. In this work, we systematically investigate the sensitivity of space-based gravitational-wave interferometers to the stochastic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) field within the frequentist framework. We derive the projected sensitivity of a single detector using the time-delay interferometry. Our results show that space-based gravitational-wave interferometers have the potential to probe unconstrained regions in parameter space and improve the current limit on coupling strengths. Furthermore, we explore the sensitivity of a detector network and investigate the optimal configuration for ULDM detection. We introduce the overlap reduction function for ULDM, which quantifies the degree of correlation between the signals observed by different detectors. We find that the configuration, where the signals observed by two detectors are uncorrelated, is the optimal choice for ULDM detection due to a smaller chance of missing signal. This contrasts with the detection of stochastic gravitational-wave background, where the correlated configuration is preferred. Our results may provide useful insights for potential joint observations involving space-based gravitational-wave detectors like LISA and Taiji, as well as other ULDM detection networks operating in the coherence limit.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_01494
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing Stochastic Ultralight Dark Matter with Space-based Gravitational-Wave Interferometers
Yao, Yue-Hui
Tang, Yong
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Ultralight particles are theoretically well-motivated dark matter candidates. In the vicinity of the solar system, these ultralight particles can be described as a superposition of plane waves, resulting in a stochastic field with sizable amplitude fluctuations on scales determined by the velocity dispersion of dark matter. In this work, we systematically investigate the sensitivity of space-based gravitational-wave interferometers to the stochastic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) field within the frequentist framework. We derive the projected sensitivity of a single detector using the time-delay interferometry. Our results show that space-based gravitational-wave interferometers have the potential to probe unconstrained regions in parameter space and improve the current limit on coupling strengths. Furthermore, we explore the sensitivity of a detector network and investigate the optimal configuration for ULDM detection. We introduce the overlap reduction function for ULDM, which quantifies the degree of correlation between the signals observed by different detectors. We find that the configuration, where the signals observed by two detectors are uncorrelated, is the optimal choice for ULDM detection due to a smaller chance of missing signal. This contrasts with the detection of stochastic gravitational-wave background, where the correlated configuration is preferred. Our results may provide useful insights for potential joint observations involving space-based gravitational-wave detectors like LISA and Taiji, as well as other ULDM detection networks operating in the coherence limit.
title Probing Stochastic Ultralight Dark Matter with Space-based Gravitational-Wave Interferometers
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.01494