MIT’s Jessica Fry hunts for axions, a dark matter candidate

Physicists globally are attempting to directly detect 85 percent of all matter in the universe, a feat that has eluded them until now. Jessica Fry, a fifth-year physics PhD candidate at MIT’s Laboratory for Nuclear Science, is among those hunting for the axion, currently the leading theoretical candidate for dark matter.

“It’s a hard problem,” Fry says, “But it’s a tractable one because the shape of the axion signal is so distinctive.” Fry’s dedication to fully engaging with any pursuit began early; she replicated a 1960s experiment using detectors from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory while still in high school.

ABRACADABRA and DMRadio: Experiments Searching for Axions

Nearly 85 percent of all matter in the universe remains dark matter, a substance that evades direct detection despite decades of searching, and Jessica Fry is employing innovative experimental techniques to address this fundamental gap in our understanding. ABRACADABRA, which stands for A Broadband/Resonant Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection with a Bayesian B-Ring Apparatus, is already operational at MIT, while DMRadio, short for Dark Matter Radio, is under construction at her alma mater, Stanford University. Both experiments leverage the principle that axions, when interacting within a strong magnetic field, should generate a minuscule oscillating electric current; detecting this signal is the core challenge.

Fry explains the underlying physics with an analogy, stating, “Think about two waves in the ocean — when they collide, they create a rip current. We are looking for that rip current.” This faint current is then amplified through resonance using specialized circuit components and quantum amplifiers, allowing researchers to scan across a range of frequencies corresponding to different potential axion masses, much like tuning a radio. Isolating this signal from the pervasive noise generated by thermal fluctuations, environmental interference, and inherent electrical activity within the detectors themselves presents a significant difficulty.

Fry’s path to dark matter research began unexpectedly with a high school project. When her physics teacher provided her with decommissioned detectors from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, she didn’t simply accept them as scrap, but instead sought out a relevant paper from the 1960s, replicated the experiment, and presented her findings. “I could answer philosophical questions about how time and space interact with something I could physically touch.

That just blew my mind.” This early initiative foreshadowed her current dedication and her willingness to tackle complex problems with resourceful ingenuity. Her academic background is also unconventional; Fry double majored in physics and theater and performance studies at Stanford, a combination she maintains through a photograph on her desk, a picture of herself in a ham costume, arms outstretched. She describes this image as a reminder that she doesn’t “half-ass” anything, a philosophy that clearly extends to her scientific pursuits.

This commitment to full engagement was tested during her sophomore year when a Broadway production extended a casting offer, forcing her to choose between a demanding performance schedule and crucial midterm examinations. She ultimately auditioned, flew cross-country, and returned in time for her exams. A month later, she received the offer. Despite taking two years away from Stanford to perform professionally, training vigorously in ballet, contemporary dance, Māori dance, Peking opera movement, and stage combat, Fry ultimately returned to Stanford to complete her degrees and pursue physics.

She credits this experience with refining her ability to “tell a story in the best possible way,” a skill she now applies to communicating complex scientific concepts. Professor of physics Lindley Winslow, who leads the Neutrino and Dark Matter Group at MIT, recognizes a parallel between Fry’s artistic background and her scientific approach. “We share in our history a turning point, a choice between two great passions and a difference in the direction our lives could have taken,” Winslow says.

“Those lives-not-lived continue to shape how we approach our physics… I see this in her work: a drive to always do it better, a demand for feedback, and then when the curtain rises, the fearlessness to deliver.” Fry acknowledges the challenges inherent in this research, but remains optimistic. “It’s a hard problem.

The team is focused on completing data analysis for DMRadio and bringing the detector online, confident that a dark matter discovery is within reach during her lifetime, and that the detection approach she has refined is among the most promising in the field. We just need to keep tuning,” she concludes.

From Broadway to Physics: Jessica Fry’s Unique Path

Fry auditioned, flew cross-country to New York for the audition and immediately returned home in time for exams. However, Fry began to recognize a concerning dynamic within the performing arts.

She observed that constant external evaluation, inherent in the audition process, fostered a reliance on others’ opinions rather than her own internal compass. The scale of MIT’s Laboratory for Nuclear Science immediately appealed to her; “MIT’s Laboratory for Nuclear Science alone is the size of most other institutions’ entire physics departments,” she noted, adding that the environment reminded her of the collaborative energy she experienced at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics.

Dark Matter’s Gravitational Influence and Axion Characteristics

Jessica Fry’s early foray into experimental physics involved resurrecting discarded equipment from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory during her high school years, a project demonstrating initiative well before her arrival at MIT’s Laboratory for Nuclear Science. Replicating a 1960s experiment with these obsolete detectors, Fry secured a foundational understanding of scientific methodology and a passion for hands-on investigation that continues to drive her current research. This early experience, she recalls, solidified her desire to connect theoretical concepts with tangible results, a pursuit that ultimately led her to the search for dark matter.

Fry focuses on axions as a leading candidate for this elusive substance, theorized to be ultralight particles behaving as waves permeating the galaxy and congregating around matter due to gravity. These detectors are systematically tuned across a range of frequencies, analogous to adjusting a car radio, to account for the possibility that different axion masses correspond to different frequencies.

Fry describes the search as analogous to identifying a “rip current” created by colliding waves, a signal obscured by background noise. The team relies on theoretical predictions about the axion signal’s shape to differentiate it from random fluctuations. “At the end of a long day of using my brain,” she says, “I love just being in my body.” She believes continued refinement of their detection methods is the key to success, stating simply, “We just need to keep tuning.”