Production and Detection of Axion-Like Particles in a HERA Dipole Magnet - Letter-of-Intent for the ALPS experiment -

TL;DR

The paper proposes an experiment using a HERA dipole magnet and high-power laser to detect axion-like particles, aiming to confirm or refute their role in explaining polarization anomalies observed by PVLAS.

Contribution

It introduces the ALPS experiment, a novel photon regeneration setup to search for axion-like particles with improved sensitivity and measurement capabilities.

Findings

Experimental setup approved by DESY in 2007

Potential to confirm or exclude axion-like particles as explanation for PVLAS anomaly

Method to measure mass, parity, and coupling strength of axion-like particles

Abstract

Recently, the PVLAS collaboration has reported evidence for an anomalous rotation of the polarization of light in vacuum in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. This may be explained through the production of a new light spin-zero (axion-like) neutral particle coupled to two photons. In this letter-of-intent, we propose to test this hypothesis by setting up a photon regeneration experiment which exploits the photon beam of a high-power infrared laser, sent along the transverse magnetic field of a superconducting HERA dipole magnet. The proposed ALPS (Axion-Like Particle Search) experiment offers a window of opportunity for a rapid firm establishment or exclusion of the axion-like particle interpretation of the anomaly published by PVALS. It will also allow for the measurement of mass, parity, and coupling strength of this particle. [The experiment has been approved by the DESY directorate on January 11, 2007.]