We study a model where photons interact with hidden photons and millicharged particles through a kinetic mixing term. Particularly, we focus in vacuum birefringence effects and we find a bound for the millicharged parameter assuming that hidden photons are a piece of the local dark matter density
We propose a model where the anapole appears as a hidden photon that is coupled to visible matter through a kinetic mixing. For low momentum $|{bf p}| ll M$ where $M$ is the cutoff the model (soft hidden photons limit) is reduced to the Ho-Scherrer description. We show that the hidden gauge boson is stable and therefore the hidden photons, indeed, are candidates for dark matter. Our approach shows that anapole and kinetic mixing terms are equivalent descriptions seen from different scales of energy.
We discuss the Aharonov-Bohm effect in the presence of hidden photons kinetically mixed with the ordinary electromagnetic photons. The hidden photon field causes a slight phase shift in the observable interference pattern. It is then shown how the limited sensitivity of this experiment can be largely improved. The key observation is that the hidden photon field causes a leakage of the ordinary magnetic field into the supposedly field-free region. The direct measurement of this magnetic field can provide a sensitive experiment with a good discovery potential, particularly below the $sim$ meV mass range for hidden photons.
We explore constraints on gauge bosons of a weakly coupled $U(1)_{B-L}$, $U(1)_{L_mu-L_e}$, $U(1)_{L_e-L_tau}$ and $U(1)_{L_mu-L_tau}$. To do so we apply the full constraining power of experimental bounds derived for a hidden photon of a secluded $U(1)_{X}$ and translate them to the considered gauge groups. In contrast to the secluded hidden photon that acquires universal couplings to charged Standard Model particles through kinetic mixing with the photon, for these gauge groups the couplings to the different Standard Model particles can vary widely. We take finite, computable loop-induced kinetic mixing effects into account, which provide additional sensitivity in a range of experiments. In addition, we collect and extend limits from neutrino experiments as well as astrophysical and cosmological observations and include new constraints from white dwarf cooling. We discuss the reach of future experiments in searching for these gauge bosons.
Quantum electrodynamics predicts the vacuum to behave as a non-linear medium, including effects such as birefringence. However, for experimentally available field strengths, this vacuum polarizability is extremely small and thus very hard to measure. In analogy to the Heisenberg limit in quantum metrology, we study the minimum requirements for such a detection in a given strong field (the pump field). Using a laser pulse as the probe field, we find that its energy must exceed a certain threshold depending on the interaction time. However, a detection at that threshold, i.e., the Heisenberg limit, requires highly non-linear measurement schemes - while for ordinary linear-optics schemes, the required energy (Poisson or shot noise limit) is much larger. Finally, we discuss several currently considered experimental scenarios from this point of view.
We present a detailed study of the oscillations and optical properties for vacuum, in a model for the dark sector that contains axion-like particles and hidden photons. In this model, both can couple to photons. We provide bounds for the couplings versus the mass, using current results from ALPS-I and PVLAS. We also discuss the challenges for the detection of models with more than one hidden particle in light shining trough wall-like experiments.