NIST scientists invent a quantum crystal detector to hunt for dark matter

NIST scientists invent a quantum crystal detector to hunt for dark matter

A crystal of roughly 150 trapped beryllium ions used quantum entanglement to measure extremely weak electric fields beyond the standard quantum limit. The sensor reached an electric-field sensitivity of about 240 nanovolts per meter per square root hertz, more than an order of magnitude better than leading Rydberg-atom electrometers at the time. Similar trapped-ion systems could eventually search for ultralight dark matter such as axions or hidd…