A Review of Recent Progress Concerning the Mass of Photons: Advancing Experimental Equipment via Cryogenic Technologies

Abstract

A photon is the fundamental quantum of electromagnetic fields, which should have strictly zero mass according to Maxwell’s theory. However, not all theories adopt this assumption. It is hard for human intuition to accept the idea that matter in nature can consist solely of energy with no mass. Legendary physicists of the past, including de Broglie, Coulomb, and Schrödinger, were hesitant to accept the notion that photons lack mass. To this day, many physicists continue to attempt to determine the photon’s mass. In Tu and collaborators’ (2005) study, many of these efforts are documented, including attempts to set upper limits on the photon’s mass that systematically approach zero. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the theoretical and experimental developments concerning photon mass from the past to the present day. In continuation of Tu and collaborators’ (2005) study, we present the latest scientific updates on the photon mass. Our research indicates that, in contrast to advancements in theoretical and extraterrestrial approaches, there has been no experimental progress achieved on the subject in recent years. We believe that relying solely on theoretical research is insufficient; instead, it is crucial to use experimental techniques to empirically determine the photon mass. We recommend incorporating the latest technologies into existing experimental approaches, and specifically, we propose ways to improve the accuracy of the ‘tabletop’ experiment conducted by Williams and collaborators (1971), which aimed to detect the photon mass. Our suggestions are based on the latest advances in cryogenics and focus on modifying the equipment used in the current experiment.