Magnetic Field Measurements for the Search for Mirror Matter.

The mirror matter hypothesis is a relatively new idea which extends the Standard Model with an exact copy of itself. Interactions with this new sector of matter are seldom, save for gravity; thus, it becomes a viable dark matter candidate. Mixing interactions between the two sectors can lead to neutral particle oscillations, including neutrons, which can oscillate back and forth dependent upon magnetic strength and alignment. Thus, control of environmental magnetic fields are important to test for this novel theory, and possibly infer the existence of a dark sector. Using modern, portable, inexpensive commercial hardware, and open source software, characterizations of the ambient magnetic field and preparations for a full-scale experiment are underway at the HFIR facility at ORNL. Our work is a crucial first step in the measurement of the magnetic fields pertinent to our future experiment. We hope to make full scale magnetic field control systems soon.