Laser experiments explore the hidden sector

Journal Article · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2008 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.77.095001· OSTI ID:21250142

Ahlers, M ^[1]; Gies, H ^[2]; Jaeckel, J ^[2]; Redondo, J; Ringwald, A ^[3]

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1. Rudolf Peierls Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP (United Kingdom)
2. Institute for Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University, Philosophenweg 16, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)
3. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany)

Recently, the laser experiments BMV and GammeV, searching for light shining through walls, have published data and calculated new limits on the allowed masses and couplings for axionlike particles. In this paper we point out that these experiments can serve to constrain a much wider variety of hidden-sector particles such as, e.g., minicharged particles and hidden-sector photons. The new experiments improve the existing bounds from the older BFRT experiment by a factor of 2. Moreover, we use the new PVLAS constraints on a possible rotation and ellipticity of light after it has passed through a strong magnetic field to constrain pure minicharged particle models. For masses < or approx. 0.05 eV, the charge is now restricted to be less than (3-4)x10{sup -7} times the electron electric charge. This is the best laboratory bound and comparable to bounds inferred from the energy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background.

• OSTI ID: 21250142
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Journal Name: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 77; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COUPLING
ELECTRIC CHARGES
ELECTRONS
ENERGY SPECTRA
LASER RADIATION
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MASS
PARTICLE MODELS
PHOTONS
RELICT RADIATION
ROTATION