5,486 research outputs found
On detection of narrow angle e+e- pairs from dark photon decays
A class of models of dark sectors consider new very weak interaction between
the ordinary and dark matter transmitted by U'(1) gauge bosons A' (dark
photons) mixing with our photons. If such A's exist, they could be searched for
in a light-shining-through-a-wall experiment with a high energy electron beam
from the CERN SPS. The proposed search scheme suggests detection of the e+e-
pairs produced in the A' -> e+e- decay with a very small opening angle.
Coordinate chambers based on the thin-wall drift tubes with a minimal material
budget and a two-hit resolution for e+ and e- tracks separated by more than 0.5
mm are considered as an option for detecting such pairs
Search for invisible decays of sub-GeV dark photons in missing-energy events at the CERN SPS
We report on a direct search for sub-GeV dark photons (A') which might be
produced in the reaction e^- Z \to e^- Z A' via kinetic mixing with photons by
100 GeV electrons incident on an active target in the NA64 experiment at the
CERN SPS. The A's would decay invisibly into dark matter particles resulting in
events with large missing energy. No evidence for such decays was found with
2.75\cdot 10^{9} electrons on target. We set new limits on the \gamma-A' mixing
strength and exclude the invisible A' with a mass < 100 MeV as an explanation
of the muon g_\mu-2 anomaly.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; Typos corrected, references adde
Constraints on New Physics in the Electron g-2 from a Search for Invisible Decays of a Scalar, Pseudoscalar, Vector, and Axial Vector
We performed a search for a new generic boson, which could be a scalar
(), pseudoscalar (), vector () or an axial vector () particle
produced in the 100 GeV electron scattering off nuclei, ,
followed by its invisible decay in the NA64 experiment at CERN. No evidence for
such process was found in the full NA64 data set of
electrons on target. We place new bounds on the coupling strengths
to electrons, and set constraints on their contributions to the electron
anomalous magnetic moment ,
for the mass region GeV. These results are an order of
magnitude more sensitive compared to the current accuracy on from the
electron experiments and recent high-precision determination of the fine
structure constant.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Hunting down the X17 boson at the CERN SPS
Recently, the ATOMKI experiment has reported new evidence for the excess of
events with a mass 17 MeV in the nuclear transitions of He,
that they previously observed in measurements with Be. These observations
could be explained by the existence of a new vector boson. So far, the
search for the decay with the NA64 experiment at the
CERN SPS gave negative results. Here, we present a new technique that could be
implemented in NA64 aiming to improve the sensitivity and to cover the
remaining parameter space. If a signal-like event is detected, an
unambiguous observation is achieved by reconstructing the invariant mass of the
decay with the proposed method. To reach this goal an optimization of the
production target, as well as an efficient and accurate reconstruction of
two close decay tracks, is required. A dedicated analysis of the available
experimental data making use of the trackers information is presented. This
method provides independent confirmation of the NA64 published results [Phys.
Rev. D101, 071101 (2020)], validating the tracking procedure. The detailed
Monte Carlo study of the proposed setup and the background estimate shows that
the goal of the proposed search is feasible
Statistique mensuelle de la viande. 1968 N° 4 APRIL-AVRIL = Monthly statistiques of meat. 1968 No. 4 April
In high energy experiments such as active beam dump searches for rare decays and missing energy events, the beam purity is a crucial parameter. In this paper we present a technique to reject heavy charged particle contamination in the 100 GeV electron beam of the H4 beam line at CERN SPS. The method is based on the detection with BGO scintillators of the synchrotron radiation emitted by the electrons passing through a bending dipole magnet. A 100 GeV pi- beam is used to test the method in the NA64 experiment resulting in a suppression factor of 10−5 while the efficiency for electron detection is 95%. The spectra and the rejection factors are in very good agreement with the Monte Carlo simulation. The reported suppression factors are significantly better than previously achieved.ISSN:0168-9002ISSN:1872-957
New solar axion search in CAST with He filling
The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) searches for conversion in
the 9 T magnetic field of a refurbished LHC test magnet that can be directed
toward the Sun. Two parallel magnet bores can be filled with helium of
adjustable pressure to match the X-ray refractive mass to the axion
search mass . After the vacuum phase (2003--2004), which is optimal for
eV, we used He in 2005--2007 to cover the mass range of
0.02--0.39 eV and He in 2009--2011 to scan from 0.39--1.17 eV. After
improving the detectors and shielding, we returned to He in 2012 to
investigate a narrow range around 0.2 eV ("candidate setting" of our
earlier search) and 0.39--0.42 eV, the upper axion mass range reachable with
He, to "cross the axion line" for the KSVZ model. We have improved the
limit on the axion-photon coupling to (95% C.L.), depending on the pressure settings. Since 2013, we
have returned to vacuum and aim for a significant increase in sensitivity.Comment: CAST Collaboration 6 pages 3 figure
Search for chameleons with CAST
In this work we present a search for (solar) chameleons with the CERN Axion
Solar Telescope (CAST). This novel experimental technique, in the field of dark
energy research, exploits both the chameleon coupling to matter () and to photons () via the Primakoff effect. By reducing
the X-ray detection energy threshold used for axions from 1keV to 400eV
CAST became sensitive to the converted solar chameleon spectrum which peaks
around 600eV. Even though we have not observed any excess above background,
we can provide a 95% C.L. limit for the coupling strength of chameleons to
photons of for .Comment: 8 pages, 12 figure
Precision measurement of the neutrino velocity with the ICARUS detector in the CNGS beam
During May 2012, the CERN-CNGS neutrino beam has been operated for two weeks
for a total of 1.8 10^17 pot in bunched mode, with a 3 ns narrow width proton
beam bunches, separated by 100 ns. This tightly bunched beam structure allows a
very accurate time of flight measurement of neutrinos from CERN to LNGS on an
event-by-event basis. Both the ICARUS-T600 PMT-DAQ and the CERN-LNGS timing
synchronization have been substantially improved for this campaign, taking
ad-vantage of additional independent GPS receivers, both at CERN and LNGS as
well as of the deployment of the "White Rabbit" protocol both at CERN and LNGS.
The ICARUS-T600 detector has collected 25 beam-associated events; the
corresponding time of flight has been accurately evaluated, using all different
time synchronization paths. The measured neutrino time of flight is compatible
with the arrival of all events with speed equivalent to the one of light: the
difference between the expected value based on the speed of light and the
measured value is tof_c - tof_nu = (0.10 \pm 0.67stat. \pm 2.39syst.) ns. This
result is in agreement with the value previously reported by the ICARUS
collaboration, tof_c - tof_nu = (0.3 \pm 4.9stat. \pm 9.0syst.) ns, but with
improved statistical and systematic errors.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl
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