Sub-GeV scale dark forces?!
Dr. Andreas Ringwald (DESY Hamburg)

Theoretical models related to dark matter have suggested that there are long-range forces mediated by new gauge bosons with masses in the MeV to GeV range and very weak coupling to ordinary matter ("dark or hidden photons"). Moreover, such new gauge bosons appear naturally in models descending from string theory.
The current experimental constraints on the existence of these new gauge bosons are quite weak, but the experimental high energy physics community is now starting to develop strategies and to form collaborations to attack these dark forces in new experiments at low energy, but high intensity accelerators, notably in fixed-target experiments. I will review the physics case for dark photons and the current and near future experimental programme to search for them.