Probing Dark Photons through Gravitational Decoupling of Mass-State Oscillations in Interstellar Media

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new gravitationally mediated mechanism for photon-dark photon oscillations in space, offering a novel method to detect dark matter by analyzing gravitational lensing data and constraining dark photon properties.

Contribution

It proposes a unique gravitational decoupling mechanism for dark photon oscillations and demonstrates its potential for dark matter detection using astrophysical observations.

Findings

Constraints of ε<10^-2 on dark photon coupling

Sensitivity analysis using quasar gravitational lensing data

Potential applications in strong gravitational fields like neutron stars

Abstract

We propose a novel mechanism for photon-dark photon mass state oscillations mediated by gravitational separation during propagation through the interstellar medium. This phenomenon establishes a new avenue for the detection of dark matter. By analyzing gravitational lensing data from quasars, we investigate the sensitivity of this approach to dark photons. Our analysis demonstrates constraints of$\epsilon<10^-2$ in the dark photon mass range of $10^{-14}eV$. Furthermore, we propose potential applications of this mechanism to astrophysical systems with strong gravitational fields, such as neutron stars and black hole accretion disks.