Simulations Reopen Dark Photon Hunt, Widening Limits by 10^8
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Aug 21
Simulations Reopen Dark Photon Hunt, Widening Limits by 10^8
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Aug 21
Summary
New simulations indicate dark photons would have stopped converting into ordinary photons before significantly heating the early universe, reviving parameter ranges many cosmological studies had ruled out.
A 15-year linear model overstated the energy transfer: the team found nonlinear plasma effects quickly shut the conversion down after only a tiny amount of energy was deposited.
Anson Hook said earlier exclusions implied dark matter interactions had to be 10^8 times weaker than they now appear able to be, sharply broadening the viable search space.
Published Aug. 13 in Physical Review Letters, the work could reshape not only dark photon searches but also experiments probing other beyond-Standard-Model particles.