New limit on millicharged particles from reactor neutrino experiments and the PVLAS anomaly
- Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117312, (Russian Federation)
- Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117312 (Russian Federation)
- Institut fuer Teilchenphysik, ETHZ, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)
It has been recently suggested that the vacuum magnetic dichroism observed by the PVLAS experiment could be explained by pair production of a new light, m{sub {epsilon}}{approx_equal}0.1 eV, millicharged, q{sub {epsilon}}{approx_equal}3x10{sup -6}e, fermions ({epsilon}). In addition, it has been pointed out that millicharged particles with q{sub {epsilon}} > or approx. 10{sup -9}e appear naturally in models based on the string theory. We show that low energy reactor neutrino experiments provide a sensitive probe of millicharged particles. Considering, as an example, recent results of the TEXONO experiment searching for the neutrino magnetic moment, a new upper bound q{sub {epsilon}} < or approx. 10{sup -5}e for the mass region m{sub {epsilon}}<1 keV is derived. These results enhance motivations for a more sensitive search for such particles in near future experiments. Furthermore, a direct experimental limit on the electric charge of the electron antineutrino q{sub {nu}{sub e}}<3.7x10{sup -12}e is obtained.
- OSTI ID:
- 21020308
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 75, Issue 7; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.75.075014; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Particle interpretation of the PVLAS data: Neutral versus charged particles
LSND/MiniBooNe excess events and heavy neutrino from {mu} and K decays