Various extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of hidden photons kinetically mixing with the ordinary photon. This mixing leads to oscillations between photons and hidden photons, analogous to the observed oscillations between different neutrino flavors. In this context, we derive new bounds on the photon-hidden photon mixing parameters using the high precision cosmic microwave background spectral data collected by the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer instrument on board of the Cosmic Background Explorer. Requiring the distortions of the CMB induced by the photon-hidden photon mixing to be smaller than experimental upper limits, this leads to a bound on the mixing angle χ 0 10 −7 − 10 −5 for hidden photon masses between 10 −14 eV and 10 −7 eV. This low-mass and low-mixing region of the hidden photon parameter space was previously unconstrained.

The iterative method is one of the most practical deconvolution techniques to correct the distortion of the spectroscopic data due to the instrument function. However, the analysis on the effectiveness of this method for practical data has not quantitatively been discussed yet under the existence of random noise. In this work, the detailed analyses of signal waveform distortion and the superimposed noise are numerically carried out and the results are graphically summarized. A method for determining the optimum number of iterations by utilizing these results is proposed, and an example of its application to an infrared absorption spectrum is also presented.

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A newly constructed spectrofluorometer system which is characterized by photon counting mode of detection and computer assisted operation is presented. The photon counting technique is utilized to detect a weak fluorescence emission, and the gate width of the counter is continually controlled by the monitor photomultiplier output to cancel out light source fluctuations. Correction of the spectra is carried out in real time by using correction factors derived from the results of absolute intensity measurement by means of a quantum counter. All the experimental procedures can be done in the conversational mode through a teletypewriter and the corrected and uncorrected spectra are presented on the X–Y recorder on a wavelength scale. Details of the system are described together with examples of its performance data.