Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: A massive photon possesses a longitudinal polarization mode absent in its massless counterpart. Transverse and longitudinal modes follow different dispersion relations, the latter being much less attenuated than the former when passing through a conductor, suggesting the possibility of isolating longitudinal modes by shining intense light on a conducting wall. We calculate the transmission rates for normal incidence upon a semi-infinite medium and passage through a slab. For the second case we compare the expected photon fluxes with those measurable in current and future light-shining-through-a-wall experiments. Using a 1-MW microwave source as envisaged by the STAX project, a sensitivity at the level of ${m}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}<9.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}/{\mathrm{c}}^{2}$ could be reached after a run time of an year, with a potential improvement by a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{4}$ if radio waves of similar power are used.
Author: P. C. Malta
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4380684289