Direct multimodel dark matter search with gravitational-wave interferometers using data from the first part of the fourth LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observing run

Abstract

We present a search of data from the first part of the fourth observing run of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA for three kinds of dark matter—dilatons (spin-0), dark photons (spin-1), and tensor bosons (spin-2)—using three independent methods, each extended to search for all three candidates. Each dark matter candidate could interact with different standard-model particles in the instruments, causing unique differential strains on the interferometers. While we do not find any evidence for a signal, we place the most stringent upper limits to date on the couplings of each dark matter model to the interferometers. For scalars with masses between [4 ×10−14,1.5 ×10−13]  eVthat couple to photons or electrons, our constraints on the scalar-to-electron or photon coupling improve upon those from the third observing run by 1 order of magnitude, with the tightest limit of ∼10−20  GeV−1 at a mass of ∼2 ×10−13  eV. For vectors with masses between [7×10−13,8.47×10−12]  eV that couple to baryons, our constraints on the dark-photon or baryon coupling supersede those from MICROSCOPE and Eöt-Wash by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude, reaching a minimum of ∼5 ×10−24 at a mass of ∼10−12  eV. For tensors with masses of [4×10−14,8.47×10−12]  eV (the full mass range analyzed) that couple via a Yukawa interaction, our constraints, which are the first obtained from gravitational-wave interferometers, surpass those from fifth-force experiments by 4 to 5 orders of magnitude, achieving a limit as low as ∼8 ×10−9 at ∼2 ×10−13  eV. Our results show that each method has substantially different sensitivity to each dark matter candidate, highlighting the importance of a multimethod approach to search for new physics. Moreover, they demonstrate that gravitational-wave interferometers can simultaneously probe multiple ultralight dark matter models and place unprecedented constraints on tensor fields arising in a broad range of modified-gravity theories.