How stable is the photon?

TL;DR

This paper investigates the implications of a finite photon lifetime and mass on cosmic microwave background observations, establishing a lower bound of 3 years on photon lifetime under current mass constraints.

Contribution

It provides the first model-independent constraints on photon mass and lifetime based on cosmic microwave background spectrum analysis.

Findings

Lower bound of 3 years on photon lifetime

Photon mass constrained by cosmic microwave background data

Photon lifetime could be significantly time-dilated if near the upper mass limit

Abstract

Yes, the photon. While a nonzero photon mass has been under experimental and theoretical study for years, the possible implication of a finite photon lifetime lacks discussion. The tight experimental upper bound of the photon mass restricts the kinematically allowed final states of photon decay to the lightest neutrino and/or particles beyond the Standard Model. We discuss the modifications of the well-measured cosmic microwave background spectrum of free streaming photons due to photon mass and lifetime and obtain model-independent constraints on both parameters---most importantly a lower direct bound of 3 yr on the photon lifetime, should the photon mass be at its conservative upper limit. In that case, the lifetime of microwave photons will be time-dilated by a factor order 10^(15).