New experimental limit on photon hidden-sector paraphoton mixing

We report on the first results of a search for optical-wavelength photons mixing with hypothetical hidden-sector paraphotons in the mass range between 10−5 and 10−2 electron volts for a mixing parameter greater than 10−7. This was a generation-regeneration experiment using the “light shining through a wall” technique in which regenerated photons are searched for downstream of an optical barrier that separates it from an upstream generation region. The new limits presented here are the most stringent limits to date on the mixing parameter. The present results indicate no evidence for photon-paraphoton mixing for the range of parameters investigated.