David Moore’s research focuses on experimental nuclear and particle physics, including tests of the fundamental nature of neutrinos, dark matter, and gravity at microscopic distances.
Professor Moore’s research group is developing new technologies to search for physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. These experiments use precision techniques to search for tiny effects in the lab, including new fundamental phenomena (e.g., those related to neutrinos, dark matter, or the microscopic nature of gravity) that may occur at much higher energy or much weaker couplings than could be directly detected at particle accelerators or other direct searches. We are currently involved in searching for neutrinoless double beta decay with the nEXO experiment, which aims to identify this lepton-number-violating decay if it occurs with a half-life up to 1028 years (nearly 1018 times the age of the universe). We are also developing force sensors and accelerometers capable of searching for new forces (as small as 10-21 N) using optically trapped, nanogram scale masses. These optomechanical sensors have applications to searches for dark matter, tests of Newton’s and Coulomb’s laws at microscopic distances, and are approaching quantum measurement regimes for nanogram mass mechanical objects. Professor Moore’s research group is housed at Professor Moore’s research group is housed at Wright Laboratory and Prof. Moore is a member of the Yale Quantum Institute.