The PVLAS experiment: measuring vacuum magnetic birefringence and dichroism with a birefringent Fabry–Perot cavity

Vacuum magnetic birefringence was predicted long time ago and is still lacking a direct experimental confirmation. Several experimental efforts are striving to reach this goal, and the sequence of results promises a success in the next few years. This measurement generally is accompanied by the sear...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields Particles and fields, 2016, Vol.76 (1), p.1-15, Article 24
Main Authors: Della Valle, Federico, Ejlli, Aldo, Gastaldi, Ugo, Messineo, Giuseppe, Milotti, Edoardo, Pengo, Ruggero, Ruoso, Giuseppe, Zavattini, Guido
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Astrophysics and Cosmology
Birefringence
Dichroism
Dielectrics
Elementary Particles
Fabry-Perot
Hadrons
Heavy Ions
Holes
Joining
Measurement Science and Instrumentation
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear Physics
Photons
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Polarimeters
Quantum Field Theories
Quantum Field Theory
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
String Theory
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Summary:Vacuum magnetic birefringence was predicted long time ago and is still lacking a direct experimental confirmation. Several experimental efforts are striving to reach this goal, and the sequence of results promises a success in the next few years. This measurement generally is accompanied by the search for hypothetical light particles that couple to two photons. The PVLAS experiment employs a sensitive polarimeter based on a high finesse Fabry–Perot cavity. In this paper we report on the latest experimental results of this experiment. The data are analysed taking into account the intrinsic birefringence of the dielectric mirrors of the cavity. Besides a new limit on the vacuum magnetic birefringence, the measurements also allow the model-independent exclusion of new regions in the parameter space of axion-like and milli-charged particles. In particular, these last limits hold also for all types of neutrinos, resulting in a laboratory limit on their charge.
ISSN:1434-6044
1434-6052
DOI:10.1140/epjc/s10052-015-3869-8