Title: PASSAT: particle accelerator helioScopes for Slim Axion-like-particle deTection

Abstract

We propose a novel method to search for axion-like particles (ALPs) at particle accelerator experiments. ALPs produced at the target via the Primakoff effect subsequently enter a region with a magnetic field, where they are converted to photons that are then detected. Dubbed Particle Accelerator helioScopes for Slim Axion-like-particle deTection (PASSAT), our proposal uses the principle of the axion helioscope but replaces ALPs produced in the Sun with those produced in a target material. Since we rely on ALP-photonconversions, our proposal probes light (slim) ALPs that are otherwise inaccessible to laboratory-based experiments which rely on ALP decay, and complements astrophysical probes that are more model-dependent. As a first application, we reinterpret existing data from the NOMAD experiment in light of PASSAT, and constrain the parameter space for ALPs lighter than$$$$\sim 100~\mathrm{eV}$$$$ $~100\mathrm{eV}$and ALP-photon coupling larger than$$$$\sim 10^{-4}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$$$$ $~{10}^{-4}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$. As benchmarks of feasible low-cost experiments improving over the NOMAD limits, we study the possibility of re-using the magnets of the CAST and the proposed BabyIAXO experiments and placing them at the proposed BDF facility at CERN, together with some new detectors. We find that these realizations of PASSAT allow for a direct probe of the parameter space for ALPs lighter than$$$$\sim 100~\mathrm{eV}$$$$ $~100\mathrm{eV}$and ALP-photon coupling larger than$$$$\sim 4\times 10^{-6}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$$$$ $~4\times {10}^{-6}{\mathrm{GeV}}^{-1}$, which are regions that have not been probed yet by experiments with laboratory-produced ALPs. In contrast to other proposals aiming at detecting single or two-photon only events in hadronic beam dump environments, that rely heavily on Monte Carlo simulations, the background in our proposal can be directly measuredin-situ, its suppression optimized, and the irreducible background statistically subtracted. Sensitivity evaluations with other beams will be the subject of a future paper. The measurements suggested in this paper represent an additional physics case for the BDF at CERN beyond those already proposed.

Authors:

Bonivento, Walter M. ^[1]; Kim, Doojin  ^[2];

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Sinha, Kuver ^[3]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato (Italy). Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare
2. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Dept. of Physics; Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
3. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

Publication Date:

Fri Feb 21 00:00:00 EST 2020

Research Org.:

Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States); Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States); Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI Identifier:

1801914

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0009913; SC0009956; SC0010813; FG02-13ER41976; PHY-1607611

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

European Physical Journal. C, Particles and Fields

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 80; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 1434-6044

Publisher:

Springer

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Physics