Experimental Limit on Nonlinear State-Dependent Terms in Quantum Theory.

Linear time evolution is one of the fundamental postulates of quantum theory. Past theoretical attempts to introduce nonlinearity into quantum evolution have violated causality. However, a recent theory has introduced nonlinear state-dependent terms in quantum field theory, preserving causality [D. E. Kaplan and S. Rajendran, Phys. Rev. D 105, 055002 (2022)PRVDAQ2470-001010.1103/PhysRevD.105.055002]. We report the results of an experiment that searches for such terms. Our approach, inspired by the Everett many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory, correlates a binary macroscopic classical voltage with the outcome of a projective measurement of a quantum bit, prepared in a coherent superposition state. Measurement results are recorded in a bit string, which is used to control a voltage switch. Presence of a nonzero voltage reading in cases of no applied voltage is the experimental signature of a nonlinear state-dependent shift of the electromagnetic field operator. We implement blinded measurement and data analysis with three control bit strings. Control of systematic effects is realized by producing one of the control bit strings with a classical random-bit generator. The other two bit strings are generated by measurements performed on a superconducting qubit in an IBM Quantum processor and on a ^{15}N nuclear spin in a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. Our measurements find no evidence for electromagnetic quantum state-dependent nonlinearity. We set a bound on the parameter that quantifies this nonlinearity |ε_{γ}|<4.7×10^{-11}, at 90% confidence level.

Stochastic fluctuations of bosonic dark matter.

Numerous theories extending beyond the standard model of particle physics predict the existence of bosons that could constitute dark matter. In the standard halo model of galactic dark matter, the velocity distribution of the bosonic dark matter field defines a characteristic coherence time τc. Until recently, laboratory experiments searching for bosonic dark matter fields have been in the regime where the measurement time T significantly exceeds τc, so null results have been interpreted by assuming a bosonic field amplitude Φ0 fixed by the average local dark matter density. Here we show that experiments operating in the T ≪ τc regime do not sample the full distribution of bosonic dark matter field amplitudes and therefore it is incorrect to assume a fixed value of Φ0 when inferring constraints. Instead, in order to interpret laboratory measurements (even in the event of a discovery), it is necessary to account for the stochastic nature of such a virialized ultralight field. The constraints inferred from several previous null experiments searching for ultralight bosonic dark matter were overestimated by factors ranging from 3 to 10 depending on experimental details, model assumptions, and choice of inference framework.

Search for Axionlike Dark Matter Using Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

We report the results of an experimental search for ultralight axionlike dark matter in the mass range 162-166 neV. The detection scheme of our Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment is based on a precision measurement of ^{207}Pb solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance in a polarized ferroelectric crystal. Axionlike dark matter can exert an oscillating torque on ^{207}Pb nuclear spins via the electric dipole moment coupling g_{d} or via the gradient coupling g_{aNN}. We calibrate the detector and characterize the excitation spectrum and relaxation parameters of the nuclear spin ensemble with pulsed magnetic resonance measurements in a 4.4 T magnetic field. We sweep the magnetic field near this value and search for axionlike dark matter with Compton frequency within a 1 MHz band centered at 39.65 MHz. Our measurements place the upper bounds |g_{d}|<9.5×10^{-4} GeV^{-2} and |g_{aNN}|<2.8×10^{-1} GeV^{-1} (95% confidence level) in this frequency range. The constraint on g_{d} corresponds to an upper bound of 1.0×10^{-21} e cm on the amplitude of oscillations of the neutron electric dipole moment and 4.3×10^{-6} on the amplitude of oscillations of CP-violating θ parameter of quantum chromodynamics. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance to search for axionlike dark matter in the neV mass range.