Probing new light gauge bosons with gravitational-wave interferometers using an adapted semi-coherent method

Understand

We adapt a method, originally developed for searches for quasi-monochromatic, quasi-infinite gravitational-wave signals, to directly detect new light gauge bosons with laser interferometers, which could be candidates for dark matter.

• To search for these particles, we optimally choose the analysis coherence time as a function of boson mass, such that all of the signal power will be confined to one frequency bin.
• We focus on the dark photon, a gauge boson that could couple to baryon or baryon-lepton number, and explain that its interactions with gravitational-wave interferometers result in a narrow-band, stochastic signal.
• We provide an end-to-end analysis scheme, estimate its computational cost, and investigate follow-up techniques to confirm or rule out dark matter candidates.