Public Lecture: Quantum Sensing in Dark Matter Search

This lecture is open to all and recommended for adults and students above 9th grade.

Title: Quantum Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of the Universe on the Subject of Dark Matter

Speaker: Dr. Chelsea Bartram (SLAC/KIPAC)

Abstract: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded for the development of the next generation of quantum technologies, including quantum sensing. In this lecture, I will discuss how we use quantum sensing to search for minuscule signals from the axion, a leading candidate for dark matter — invisible, feebly interacting particles thought to make up the majority of the mass in the Universe. Innovations in superconducting circuits have opened the door not only to possible axion detection but also to a host of other applications. I will highlight two axion searches at Stanford University: the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) and the DM Radio experiment. Both use radio technology to look for an electromagnetic signal generated by axions interacting with a magnetic field, and their fundamental experimental designs can be simplified and replicated for broader impact in educational settings. The discovery of the axion would undoubtedly revolutionize our understanding of physics and our place in the Universe.

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