Only slightly "Amplifying nonresonant production of dark sector particles in scattering dominance regime''

TL;DR

This study reevaluates dark photon production in nuclear reactors, showing a smaller enhancement than previous estimates and providing updated limits on photon mixing parameters based on detailed simulations.

Contribution

The paper refines the understanding of dark photon production in reactors, demonstrating a smaller enhancement factor and validating results with GEANT simulations.

Findings

Enhancement factor for dark photon production is less than previously estimated.

Correction to mixing parameter limits is below 30%.

Updated photon spectra are necessary for accurate predictions.

Abstract

In recent article [PhysRevD.109.055041 (2024)] it has been argued that production of dark photons -- hypothetical massive vectors -- in nuclear reactors via mixing with the visible photons is considerably enhanced (by a factor of 10) due to Compton scattering of the latter. We revisit the production of dark photons in the reactor environment and find that although the scattering of photons indeed leads to a larger number of produced dark photons, the overall enhancement is considerably smaller than what has been obtained in Ref. [PhysRevD.109.055041 (2024)]. Our findings are validated using GEANT simulations, which take into account oscillations between ordinary and visible photons and interaction of the latter with matter. The correction to the limit on mixing parameter between dark and visible photons is expected to be below 30% for all masses. It's application must be accompanied with an update on the original spectrum of photons produced in nuclear reactions inside the nuclear reactor.