Limits from the FUNK experiment on the mixing strength of hidden-photon dark matter in the visible and near-ultraviolet wavelength range

Arnaud Andrianavalomahefa,Ralf Ulrich,Marek Kowalski,Ralph Engel,David Schmidt,Kai Daumiller,Hermann-Josef Mathes,Darko Veberič,Axel Lindner,Markus Roth,Thomas Schwetz,Christoph M Schäfer,Javier Redondo,Joerg Jaeckel,The Funk Experiment ,Babette Döbrich

doi:10.1103/physrevd.102.042001

Abstract

We present results from the FUNK experiment in the search for hidden-photon dark matter. Near the surface of a mirror, hidden photons may be converted into ordinary photons. These photons are emitted perpendicular to the surface and have an energy equal to the mass of the dark matter hidden photon. Our experimental setup consists of a large, spherical mirror with an area of more than 14 m$^2$, which concentrates the emitted photons into its central point. Using a detector sensitive to visible and near-UV photons, we can exclude a kinetic-mixing coupling of stronger than $\chi \approx 10^{-12}$ in the mass range of 2.5 to 7 eV, assuming hidden photons comprise all of the dark matter. The experimental setup and analysis used to obtain this limit are discussed in detail.

Highlights

Constituting approximately 85% of its matter and 25% of its total energy content [1], dark matter (DM) is possibly one of the central puzzles in our quest to understand the Universe
Our experimental setup consists of a large, spherical mirror with an area of more than 14 m2, which concentrates the emitted photons into its central point
Assuming that the HP particles comprise the whole of the cold DM in the galactic halo, we can obtain our sensitivity to the kinetic-mixing parameter directly from Eq (2) as χ

Summary

Introduction

Constituting approximately 85% of its matter and 25% of its total energy content [1], dark matter (DM) is possibly one of the central puzzles in our quest to understand the Universe. Cold and pressureless gas, which suggests that it is made from slow, nonrelativistic particulates. The mass of these particulates is, essentially unknown. They could be elementary particles with masses as low as approximately 10−22 eV, but they could be macroscopic objects, such as black holes, with masses as large as 10Msun. We present the results of exactly such an experiment. Our experiment “Finding U(1)’s of a Novel

Methods

Results

Conclusion