Scientists Enhance Dark Matter Detection with Revolutionary Atom Interferometer

If dark matter exists, its interactions with ordinary matter are so weak that even the most advanced instruments struggle to detect them.

Figure 1. Amplifying the Universe’s Faintest Signals 1,000x to Reveal Dark Matter.

Now, physicists at Northwestern University have developed a groundbreaking tool that amplifies extremely faint signals by 1,000 times—a 50-fold improvement over previous technology. Figure 1 shows Amplifying the Universe’s Faintest Signals 1,000x to Reveal Dark Matter.

This device, known as an atom interferometer, uses light to manipulate atoms and measure incredibly small forces. Unlike earlier versions, which suffered from imperfections in the light itself, this new interferometer self-corrects for these flaws, achieving unprecedented precision.

A Breakthrough in Detecting Dark Matter and Beyond

By making previously undetectable signals measurable, this advancement could help scientists explore ultra-weak forces associated with elusive phenomena such as dark matter, dark energy, and gravitational waves at unexplored frequencies.

Kovachy is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Center for Fundamental Physics.

What Is an Atom Interferometer?

Invented in 1991, atom interferometers leverage superposition, a fundamental quantum principle in which a particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously. In this case, an atom behaves like a wave traveling along two separate paths at the same time.

The device works by using lasers to split an atom into two wave-like states, send them along different trajectories, and then recombine them. The resulting interference pattern serves as a "fingerprint" that reveals minute forces acting on the atoms.

“Atom interferometers are exceptionally good at detecting tiny oscillations in distances,” Kovachy explained. “Since we don’t yet know the strength of dark matter’s effects, we need our instruments to be as sensitive as possible. The fact that we haven’t detected dark matter yet suggests that its influence must be incredibly weak.”

Overcoming Challenges in Precision Measurement

When working with waves as delicate as those in atom interferometry, even the smallest disturbances can disrupt the entire experiment. Tiny imperfections in the system can create errors in the interference pattern, making precise measurements nearly impossible. For instance, a single stray photon can nudge a wave-like atom off course with a velocity shift of just one centimeter per second.

“Photons don’t carry much momentum, but atoms have very little mass,” Kovachy explained. “Losing one atom might not seem like a big deal, but when we apply multiple laser pulses to enhance the atom interferometer’s sensitivity, those small errors accumulate rapidly. In our early experiments, we found that after about 10 pulses, the signal was completely lost.”

A ‘Self-Correcting’ System for Greater Precision

To address this issue, Kovachy and his team developed a novel technique to carefully control the sequence of laser pulses. By leveraging machine learning, their method self-corrects for imperfections in individual pulses of light. By optimizing the waveform of each pulse, they significantly reduced the impact of errors introduced by the experimental setup.

After testing their approach through simulations, the team built and validated the system in the lab, successfully amplifying signals by a factor of 1,000.

A New Era for Atom Interferometry

“Before, we could only manage 10 laser pulses; now we can perform 500,” Kovachy said. “This could be transformative for many applications. The entire atom interferometer system now ‘self-corrects’ for imperfections in each pulse. While we can’t make every laser pulse perfect, we can optimize the overall sequence to minimize errors. This breakthrough could unlock the full potential of atom interferometry.”

Source: SciTECHDaily

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025),Scientists Boost the Universe’s Weakest Signals 1,000x To Uncover Dark Matter, AnaTechmaz, pp. 206