Dark-Sector Photo-Magnetic Luminescence: The Case for a Room Temperature Chameleon Search

Abstract

We report the results of studies showing that temperature dependent photoluminescence is the likely source of unexpected large background rates in afterglow searches for dark sector phenomena, commonly called ``chameleons''. Using this information, we examine the possibility of a room temperature chameleon afterglow search that automatically eliminates this background. Then, without this background, we discuss a modest search effort exploring the afterglow halflife range $0.1~{\rm{sec}} \leq T_{1/2} \leq 120~{\rm{sec}}$ equivalent to photon coupling constant range $8 \times10^{12} \leq \beta_{\gamma } \leq 3\times10^{14}$