Production and Detection of Axion-Like Particles at the VUV-FEL: Letter of Intent

Recently, the PVLAS collaboration has reported evidence for an anomalously large rotation of the polarization of light generated in vacuum in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. This may be explained through the production of a new light spin-zero 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 the Vacuum-UltraViolet Free-Electron Laser VUV-FEL, sent along the transverse magnetic field of a linear arrangement of dipole magnets of size B L ~ 30 Tm. The high photon energies available at the VUV-FEL increase substantially the expected photon regeneration rate in the mass range implied by the PVLAS anomaly, in comparison to the rate expected at visible lasers of similar power. We find that the particle interpretation of the PVLAS result can be tested within a short running period. The pseudoscalar vs. scalar nature can be determined by varying the direction of the magnetic field with respect to the laser polarization. The mass of the particle can be measured by running at different photon energies. The proposed experiment offers a window of opportunity for a firm establishment or exclusion of the particle interpretation of the PVLAS anomaly before other experiments can compete.