Constraining Properties of Subliminal Lasers for Use in Dark Matter Detection

Decades since its conception, dark matter (DM) continues to be one of the greatest mysteries in modern physics. There are a plethora of theories surrounding the subject, but we are interested in bosonic ultralight dark matter (UDM) fields. These UDM fields are theorized to induce oscillations in the fine structure constant and electron mass, which are manifested as a time varying strain in macroscopic, solid objects. This strain can be measured using optical cavities with different sensitivities to it, and can be achieved by using a standard optical cavity in conjunction with a subluminal laser. The resonance frequency of a subluminal laser is highly resistant to changes in its cavity length, which makes it highly insensitive to DM. However, producing an effective DM detector with this method requires a better understanding of the physics of subluminal lasers and their ideal parameters. Therefore, we created a simulation of a subluminal laser and calculated the Sensitivity Suppression Factor (SSF). We show that the value of the SSF depends on many different factors, and can vary widely.