Research Description
Dylan Yost’s research aims to detect visible photons interacting with other photons in the complete absence of any mediating matter. While this will confirm a fascinating prediction of the best physical theories (i.e., the Standard Model), it also has excellent discovery potential since many theorized particles, which have not yet been detected, also produce photon-photon interactions.
Dr. Yost’s group will store high-energy laser pulses inside optical cavities, which will be arranged and timed so that two laser pulses, called the “pump” and “probe,” repeatedly collide. The effects of the collisions will be imprinted on the probe pulse and will be compared with an additional stored “control” pulse to make extremely sensitive measurements of photons interacting directly with other photons.
Research Impact
Experiments attempting to measure photon-photon interactions have been earnestly pursued for more than 40 years. As judged by the experimental effort expended worldwide, it would be a huge achievement to observe the interaction of visible photons predicted by the best physical theories. However, it is also possible that deviations from the theory arise, which would indicate the existence of some new coupling between photons (for instance, mediated by axions or millicharged particles) — revolutionizing the understanding of fundamental physics.
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related links
Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative
Science
Colorado State University, Department of Physics
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