Optimizing Light-Shining-through-a-Wall Experiments for Axion and other WISP Searches

Understand

One of the prime tools to search for new light bosons interacting very weakly with photons -- prominent examples are axions, axion-like particles and extra ``hidden'' U(1) gauge bosons -- are light-shining-through-a-wall (LSW) experiments.

• With the current generation of these experiments finishing data taking it is time to plan for the next and search for an optimal setup.
• The main challenges are clear: on the one hand we want to improve the sensitivity towards smaller couplings, on the other hand we also want to increase the mass range to which the experiments are sensitive.
• Our main example are axion(-like particle)s but we also discuss implications for other WISPs (weakly interacting slim particles) such as hidden U(1) gauge bosons.