Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Dark sector searches with high-intensity positron beams in the CERN North Area

F. Arias-Aragón, L. Darmé, R. Gargiulo, G. Grilli di Cortona, V. Kozhuharov, E. Nardi, M. Raggi, T. Spadaro, P. Valente

Abstract

Dark sector models present a rich phenomenology that requires high-intensity beams and precision detectors for thorough exploration. The NA62 experiment has already published several constraints on dark sector models, leveraging proton beam dump and meson decay techniques. This proposal aims to demonstrate the NA62 detector discovery potential for dark sector candidates by using the positron-on-target technique. High-intensity secondary positron beams, reaching up to ~150 GeV energy, have already been produced at the North Area extracted beam lines. If a positron beam with an intensity in the range of 2$\times10^14$ positrons on target per year is delivered, the NA62 detector would be ideal for searches of dark sector particles in both visible and invisible decay channels. Additionally, positron on target collisions would enable precision measurements of key standard model observables, including a detailed scan of $σ(e^+e^- \to π^+π^-)$ and $σ(e^+e^- \to μ^+μ^-$) at the di-pion and di-muon production threshold, with discovery potential for the True Muonium ($μ^+μ^-$) bound state.

Dark sector searches with high-intensity positron beams in the CERN North Area

Abstract

Dark sector models present a rich phenomenology that requires high-intensity beams and precision detectors for thorough exploration. The NA62 experiment has already published several constraints on dark sector models, leveraging proton beam dump and meson decay techniques. This proposal aims to demonstrate the NA62 detector discovery potential for dark sector candidates by using the positron-on-target technique. High-intensity secondary positron beams, reaching up to ~150 GeV energy, have already been produced at the North Area extracted beam lines. If a positron beam with an intensity in the range of 2 positrons on target per year is delivered, the NA62 detector would be ideal for searches of dark sector particles in both visible and invisible decay channels. Additionally, positron on target collisions would enable precision measurements of key standard model observables, including a detailed scan of and ) at the di-pion and di-muon production threshold, with discovery potential for the True Muonium () bound state.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 28 sections, 26 equations, 18 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Dark sectors at NA62e+ with a 75 GeV positron beam
  3. NA62 luminosity with different target materials and thickness
  4. Dark Photon production in positron-on-target collisions
  5. Axion Like Particles production in positron-on-target collisions
  6. ALPs with dominant electron coupling
  7. Dark sector particles decay modes
  8. Invisible decay search techniques at NA62e+
  9. Missing mass: $e^+e^- \to \gamma X$
  10. Missing momentum: $e^+N \to e^+ N X$
  11. Missing energy: $e^+Z \to e^+ \cancel{E}$
  12. Visible decay searches
  13. Thin target: bump-hunt
  14. Long-lived particles searches: dump mode
  15. Thin target: displaced vertex
  16. ...and 13 more sections

Figures (18)

  • Figure 1: A$^{\prime}$ production mechanisms in electron-positron collisions Nardi:2018cxi
  • Figure 2: ALPs with dominant coupling to photons production mechanisms in positron-on-target collisions. Dolan:2017osp
  • Figure 3: NA62e$^+$'s invisible decay search techniques illustrated in the case of a DP $A'$. a) Missing mass b) Missing momentum c) Missing energy.
  • Figure 4: Expected NA62e+ sensitivity to $A'$ invisible decays in different scenarios. Blue line Silicon and red line tungsten target in single photon mode. Filled grey area represents NA64 NA64:2023wbi and filled green one the Babar BaBar:2017tiz limits.
  • Figure 5: Expected NA62e+ sensitivity to ALPs ($g_{ae}$) invisible decays in different scenarios. The blue (red) line represents a silicon (tungsten) target in single photon mode. The shaded gray area shows the NA64 limits NA64:2023wbi, and the green one the BaBar limits BaBar:2017tiz.
  • ...and 13 more figures