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Demonstration That Differential Length Changes of Optical Cavities Are a Sensitive Probe for Ultralight Dark Matter

Tejas Deshpande, Andra Ionescu, Nicholas Miller, Zhiyuan Wang, Gerald Gabrielse, Andrew A. Geraci, and Tim Kovachy

  • Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 261001 – Published 22 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hv9c-qvpf

Abstract

Measurements of differential length oscillations of Fabry-Perot cavities provide a sensitive and promising approach to searching for scalar ultralight dark matter (ULDM). The initial demonstration sets direct lower bounds that are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower for two model ULDM distributions—a standard galactic halo and a relaxion star bound to Earth—ranging over a decade of ULDM mass and Compton frequency. The demonstration suggests how a much higher sensitivity to a much larger ULDM mass range can be obtained.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 261001– Published 22 December, 2025
  • Received 29 December 2024
  • Revised 9 October 2025
  • Accepted 13 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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