Magnetic monopole noise

Magnetic monopoles^1–3 are hypothetical elementary particles with quantized magnetic charge. In principle, a magnetic monopole can be detected by the quantized jump in magnetic flux that it generates upon passage through a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)⁴. Following the theoretical prediction that emergent magnetic monopoles should exist in several lanthanide pyrochlore magnetic insulators^5,6, including Dy₂Ti₂O₇, the SQUID technique has been proposed for their direct detection⁶. However, this approach has been hindered by the high number density and the generation–recombination fluctuations expected of such thermally generated monopoles. Recently, theoretical advances have enabled the prediction of the spectral density of magnetic-flux noise from monopole generation–recombination fluctuations in these materials^7,8. Here we report the development of a SQUID-based flux noise spectrometer and measurements of the frequency and temperature dependence of magnetic-flux noise generated by Dy₂Ti₂O₇ crystals. We detect almost all of the features of magnetic-flux noise predicted for magnetic monopole plasmas^7,8, including the existence of intense magnetization noise and its characteristic frequency and temperature dependence. Moreover, comparisons of simulated and measured correlation functions of the magnetic-flux noise indicate that the motions of magnetic charges are strongly correlated. Intriguingly, because the generation–recombination time constant for Dy₂Ti₂O₇ is in the millisecond range, magnetic monopole flux noise amplified by SQUID is audible to humans.