Abstract
If light hidden sector photons (γ′s) exist, they could be produced through kinetic mixing with solar photons in the eV energy range. We propose to search for this hypothetical γ′-flux with the Super-Kamiokande and/or upgraded CAST detectors. The proposed experiments are sensitive to the γ–γ′ mixing strength as small as 10−5≳χ≳10−9 for the γ′ mass region 10−4≲mγ′≲10−1 eV and, in the case of non-observation, would improve limits recently obtained from photon regeneration laser experiments for this mass region.
Highlights
Several interesting extensions of the Standard Model (SM) suggest the existence of ‘hidden’ sectors consisting of SU(3)C × SU(2)L × U (1)Y singlet fields
Holdom [3] showed, that by enlarging the Standard Model by the addition of a second, massless photon one could construct grand unified models which contain particles with an electric charge very small compared to the electron charge [3]
Note that in the new field basis the ordinary photon remains unaffected, while the hidden-sector photon is completely decoupled, i.e. do not interact with the ordinary matter at all [1,3,11]. Experimental bounds on these massive hidden photons can be obtained from searches for an electromagnetic fifth force [1,25,26], from stellar cooling considerations [27,28], and from experiments using the method of photon regeneration [29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43]
Summary
Several interesting extensions of the Standard Model (SM) suggest the existence of ‘hidden’ sectors consisting of SU(3)C × SU(2)L × U (1)Y singlet fields. Note that in the new field basis the ordinary photon remains unaffected, while the hidden-sector photon (here denoted as γ ) is completely decoupled, i.e. do not interact with the ordinary matter at all [1,3,11] Experimental bounds on these massive hidden photons can be obtained from searches for an electromagnetic fifth force [1,25,26], from stellar cooling considerations [27,28], and from experiments using the method of photon regeneration [29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43]. Since the suppression of the mixing is more drastic as the density increases (and maximum at the solar center) it is certainly advantageous to search for low mass hidden sector photons with energies in the eV range, where the photon flux is maximal [45]. The experiment could be performed with the Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector, and/or in the CAST experiment at CERN upgraded with a new helioscope, and is based on the photon-regeneration method used at low energies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
