Quantum Effects of Axion Dark Matter

by Dr Kevin Zhou (University of California)

Friday 25 Jul 2025, 13:30 → 14:30 Asia/Shanghai

Tsung-Dao Lee Institute/N4F-N400 - meeting room (Tsung-Dao Lee Institute)

Abstract: 

Experimental searches for axion dark matter always treat the axion as a classical field. However, the axion can be in an intrinsically quantum state, with high occupancy but no classical analogue. To understand the potential consequences, I will treat both the axion and its detector quantum mechanically, using techniques from quantum optics. In this formalism I will show that quantum effects are unobservable if the axion is virialized. If the axion is condensed into a single mode, then intrinsically quantum effects become observable in principle, via modifiations of measurement statistics. However, in practice these modifications would be very difficult to detect. 

Biography: 

Kevin Zhou is a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley interested in new kinds of precision experiments to probe physics beyond the Standard Model, with a focus on ultralight dark matter detection. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford University in 2024, following Master’s degrees from Cambridge and Oxford. He is also active in physics education and outreach, having served as coach of the USA Physics Olympiad team.

Alternative online link： https://meeting.tencent.com/dm/qKAFkGtTunor

ID: 127556693