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Solar Hidden Photon Search

Matthias Schwarz, Axel Lindner, Javier Redondo, Andreas Ringwald, Guenter Wiedemann

TL;DR

This work addresses the direct search for solar hidden photons by exploiting photon-to-hidden-photon oscillations and their reconversion to photons in a vacuum helioscope without a magnetic field. It describes the SHIPS instrument, a 430 cm vacuum tube with a Fresnel lens and ultra-low-noise detectors tracking the Sun, enabling optical/near-infrared detection of HP-induced signals. The paper outlines signal and background considerations, with sensitivity expectations and how discovery potential scales with collecting area, tube length, and observation time, and it discusses a Phase II upgrade to a 13 m-long, 125 cm-diameter tube to enhance reach. Overall, SHIPS represents a focused laboratory approach to probing hidden photons in the solar context and complements existing experiments like ALPS and CAST.

Abstract

The Solar Hidden Photon Search (SHIPS) is a joint astroparticle project of the Hamburger Sternwarte and DESY. The main target is to detect the solar emission of a new species of particles, so called Hidden Photons (HPs). Due to kinetic mixing, photons and HPs can convert into each other as they propagate. A small number of solar HPs - originating from photon to HP oscillations in the interior of the Sun - can be converted into photons in a long vacuum pipe pointing to the Sun - the SHIPS helioscope.

Solar Hidden Photon Search

TL;DR

This work addresses the direct search for solar hidden photons by exploiting photon-to-hidden-photon oscillations and their reconversion to photons in a vacuum helioscope without a magnetic field. It describes the SHIPS instrument, a 430 cm vacuum tube with a Fresnel lens and ultra-low-noise detectors tracking the Sun, enabling optical/near-infrared detection of HP-induced signals. The paper outlines signal and background considerations, with sensitivity expectations and how discovery potential scales with collecting area, tube length, and observation time, and it discusses a Phase II upgrade to a 13 m-long, 125 cm-diameter tube to enhance reach. Overall, SHIPS represents a focused laboratory approach to probing hidden photons in the solar context and complements existing experiments like ALPS and CAST.

Abstract

The Solar Hidden Photon Search (SHIPS) is a joint astroparticle project of the Hamburger Sternwarte and DESY. The main target is to detect the solar emission of a new species of particles, so called Hidden Photons (HPs). Due to kinetic mixing, photons and HPs can convert into each other as they propagate. A small number of solar HPs - originating from photon to HP oscillations in the interior of the Sun - can be converted into photons in a long vacuum pipe pointing to the Sun - the SHIPS helioscope.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 3 sections, 2 equations, 2 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Experimental setup
  3. Present status and outlook

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: The helioscope TSHIPS attached to the equatorial mount of the Oskar Lühning Telescope at the Hamburger Sternwarte.
  • Figure 2: Current exclusion regions for hidden photons with kinetic mixing angle $\chi$ and mass $m_{\gamma'}$, in particular from the light-shining-through-a-wall experiment ALPS and from the helioscope experiment CAST, together with the projected sensitivity of TSHIPS (gray region).