Bounding the Photon Mass with Solar Probes

Abstract

Proposed close-encounter solar probes (Vulcan and Solar Probe) are planned to have highly eccentric orbits, with a perihelion of about $4R_S$ and an inclination close to $90^{\circ }$ out of the plane of the ecliptic. We show this could allow at least an order-of-magnitude improvement in the present directly measured limit on the photon mass.

Comments: 7 pages, LaTeX, Indiana University preprint IUHET 245 and Los Alamos Preprint LA-UR-93-1128