Fundamental Physics in Space

What are the constituents of the universe, and how do they interact with each other? A major avenue to discover new physics lies in the possibility that the new physics might interact very weakly with atomic matter. This includes phenomena such as gravitational waves, dark matter and dark energy. Detecting such weakly interacting physics requires sensors of exquisite precision operating in low-noise environments. Excitingly, in the past decade, there has been a rapid development of new experimental methods to probe a variety of weakly coupled physics using advances in precision messurement and quantum sensing. While some of these technologies can be deployed terrestrially, the space environment provides unique advantages and access to physics that are exceedingly difficult to realize in the terrestrial setting. These advantages include the low-noise space environment that is devoid of atmospheric or vibrational noise, enabling optimal operational conditions for these sensors. Space also provides access to solar system objects such as the Sun, the Moon and asteroids, whose unique environments could be exploited for detection, along with different gravitational potentials. In addition, the sensitivity of these sensors often improves with free evolution time, and the zero-gravity environment of space can provide significant gains. Finally, the long baselines that are only possible in space significantly boost various signals of new physics, enabling unique detection possibilities. In this talk, I will discuss how the above opportunities offered by the space environment can be used to probe fundamental physics.