Speaker
Description
Motivated by the seminal experiments of DeLorenzo and Schwab, along with theoretical predictions for coupling of acoustic resonators to dark matter, we have embarked on an effort to build small-scale detectors of gravitational waves and ultra-light dark matter using superfluid helium resonators. The core idea is to build a Weber bar, which resonantly enhances the strain signal from these sources, but with the added feature that at low-temperatures helium remains a liquid, enabling tuning of the acoustic resonance frequency. Coupled with the vanishing acoustic losses in the superfluid state of helium, this makes superfluid helium resonators the ideal acoustic detectors. Readout is performed using modern cavity electromechanics, furthering the toolbox of advanced techniques to measure and control these acoustic detectors.