Particle interpretation of the PVLAS data: Neutral versus charged particles

Abstract

Recently the PVLAS Collaboration reported the observation of a rotation of linearly polarized laser light induced by a transverse magnetic field—a signal being unexpected within standard QED. Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain this result: production of a single (pseudo-)scalar particle coupled to two photons or pair production of light millicharged particles. In this work, we study how the different scenarios can be distinguished. We summarize the expected signals for vacuum magnetic dichroism (rotation) and birefringence (ellipticity) for the different types of particles—including new results for the case of millicharged scalars. The sign of the rotation and ellipticity signals as well as their dependencies on experimental parameters, such as the strength of the magnetic field and the wavelength of the laser, can be used to obtain information about the quantum numbers of the particle candidates and to discriminate between the different scenarios. We perform a statistical analysis of all available data, resulting in strongly restricted regions in the parameter space of all scenarios. These domains suggest clear target regions for upcoming experimental tests. As an illustration, we use preliminary PVLAS data to demonstrate that near-future data may already rule out some of these scenarios.