Constraints on the Photon Mass with Fast Radio Bursts

TL;DR

Fast radio bursts can be used to set extremely tight constraints on the photon mass by analyzing frequency-dependent delays, surpassing previous astrophysical limits.

Contribution

This paper demonstrates that FRB observations provide the most stringent upper limits on the photon mass to date, improving previous constraints by orders of magnitude.

Findings

Potential upper limit on photon mass: 5.2 x 10^{-47} g

FRBs offer a new, precise method for testing fundamental physics

Constraints are significantly tighter than previous astrophysical bounds

Abstract

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are radio bursts characterized by millisecond durations, high Galactic latitude positions, and high dispersion measures. Very recently, the cosmological origin of FRB 150418 has been confirmed by \cite{kea16}, and FRBs are now strong competitors as cosmological probes. The simple sharp feature of the FRB signal is ideal for them to probe some of the fundamental laws of physics. Here we show that by analyzing the delay time between different frequencies, the FRB data can place stringent upper limits on the rest mass of the photon. For FRB 150418 at $z=0.492$, one can potentially reach $m_{\gamma} \leq 5.2 \times 10^{-47}$ g, which is $10^{20}$ times smaller than the rest mass of electron, and is about $10^3$ times smaller than that obtained using other astrophysical sources with the same method.