Using plasma physics to weigh the photon
Open accessAbstract
The currently accepted value for the upper bound for the photon mass, m ph , is 22 orders of magnitude less than the electron mass. As the mass m ph is so incredibly small, it has essentially no effect on atomic and nuclear physics; and it is very difficult to improve this estimate by laboratory experiments. However, even a very small mass may have a significant effect on astrophysical phenomena occurring on a scale exceeding the photon Compton length (where for the currently accepted mass). A set of magnetohydrodynamic equations (assuming a finite photon mass) are used to analyze properties of the solar wind at Pluto's orbit. This yields an improved (reduced) by a factor of 70 estimate of the photon mass. Possible opportunities and challenges for the further reduction of the upper limit for m ph based on the properties of larger-scale astrophysical objects are discussed.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
At present the most stringent and secure limit on the photon mass comes from the measurement of the magnetic field in the solar wind: m_A < 2 × 10^-51 g, or λ_A > 2 × 10^13 cm.
“At present the most stringent and secure limit on the photon mass comes from the measurement of the magnetic field in the solar wind: m A < 2 × 10 -51 g, or λ A > 2 × 10 13 cm [51].”
From Electrodynamics on cosmological scales (2016) · cites this paper as [51]
Cites
Tu, L.-C., Luo, J., & Gillies, G. T. (2005) · Reports on Progress in Physics · doi:10.1088/0034-4885/68/1/r02 · Cited by 303 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Photon and graviton mass limits
Goldhaber, A. S., & Nieto, M. M. (2010) · Reviews of Modern Physics · doi:10.1103/revmodphys.82.939 · Cited by 445 · see citing works
Electrodynamics on cosmological scales
Li, L.-X. (2016) · General Relativity and Gravitation · doi:10.1007/s10714-016-2028-3 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ryutov, D. D.
- Affiliations
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ryutov, D D
- Venue
- Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 2007-11-19
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 12B
- Pages
- B429-B438
- ISSN
- 0741-3335 (ISSN-L)
- 1361-6587
- OpenAlex
- W2086164747
- Cited by
- 102
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 0.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.osti.gov
- Locations
- Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (publishedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Relativity and Gravitational Theory
- Keywords
- photon mass, solar wind, magnetohydrodynamic equations, Compton wavelength, astrophysical constraints, plasma physics
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
