New PVLAS results and limits on magnetically induced optical rotation and ellipticity in vacuum

TL;DR

The PVLAS collaboration's recent experiments with upgraded apparatus at 1064 nm and magnetic fields of 2.3 T and 5 T found no evidence of vacuum optical rotation or ellipticity, challenging previous claims and setting new photon-photon scattering limits.

Contribution

This study provides new experimental limits on vacuum magnetic birefringence and photon-photon scattering, refuting earlier PVLAS results and instrumental artifacts.

Findings

No vacuum optical rotation detected down to 1.2×10⁻⁸ rad at 5 T.

No ellipticity signal at 2.3 T, excluding effects depending on B².

New upper limit on photon-photon scattering cross section: < 4.5×10⁻³⁴ barn.

Abstract

IIn 2006 the PVLAS collaboration reported the observation of an optical rotation generated in vacuum by a magnetic field. To further check against possible instrumental artifacts several upgrades to the PVLAS apparatus have been made during the last year. Two data taking runs, at the wavelength of 1064 nm, have been performed in the new configuration with magnetic field strengths of 2.3 T and 5 T. The 2.3 T field value was chosen in order to avoid stray fields. The new observations do not show the presence of a rotation signal down to the levels of $1.2\cdot 10^{-8}$ rad at 5 T and $1.0\cdot 10^{-8}$ rad at 2.3 T (at 95% c.l.) with 45000 passes in the magnetic field zone. In the same conditions no ellipticity signal was detected down to $1.4\cdot 10^{-8}$ at 2.3 T (at 95% c.l.), whereas at 5 T a signal is still present. The physical nature of this ellipticity as due to an effect depending on $B^2$ can be excluded by the measurement at 2.3 T. These new results completely exclude the previously published magnetically induced vacuum dichroism results, indicating that they were instrumental artifacts. These new results therefore also exclude the particle interpretation of the previous PVLAS results as due to a spin zero boson. The background ellipticity at 2.3 T can be used to determine a new limit on the total photon-photon scattering cross section of $\sigma_{\gamma\gamma} < 4.5 \cdot10^{-34}$ barn at 95% c.l..