Search for domain wall dark matter with atomic clocks on board global positioning system satellites.

ABSTRACT: Cosmological observations indicate that dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the universe yet its microscopic composition remains a mystery. Dark matter could arise from ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects. Here we use the global positioning system as a ~ 50,000 km aperture dark matter detector to search for such objects in the form of domain walls. Global positioning system navigation relies on precision timing signals furnished by atomic clocks. As the Earth moves through the galactic dark matter halo, interactions with domain walls could cause a sequence of atomic clock perturbations that propagate through the satellite constellation at galactic velocities ~ 300 km s^-1. Mining 16 years of archival data, we find no evidence for domain walls at our curr

SUBMITTER: Roberts BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5662606 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature