DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: New physics at a neutron beam dump

Journal Article · · Physical Review. D.

We find a new utility of neutrons, usually treated as an experimental nuisance causing unwanted background, in probing new physics signals. The new physics signals can either be radiated from neutrons (neutron bremsstrahlung) or appear through secondary particles from neutron-on-target interactions, dubbed “neutron beam dump.” As a concrete example, we take the FASER/FASER2 experiment as a “factory” of high-energy neutrons that interact with the iron dump. We find that if new physics particles had the same interaction strength to protons and neutrons, their production rate via neutron-initiated bremsstrahlung would be comparable to that via proton-initiated ones, in terms of the resulting flux and the range of couplings that can be probed. The neutron bremsstrahlung can be used, for instance, to probe dark gauge bosons with nonzero neutron coupling. In particular, we investigate protophobic gauge bosons and find that FASER/FASER2 can probe new parameter space. We also illustrate the possibility of neutron-induced secondary particles by considering axionlike particles with electron couplings. We conclude that the physics potential of FASER/FASER2 in terms of new physics searches can be greatly extended and improved with the inclusion of neutron interactions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0017987; SC0010813; SC0007914
OSTI ID:
2447643
Journal Information:
Physical Review. D., Journal Name: Physical Review. D. Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 110; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 2470-0010
Publisher:
American Physical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (115)

An upper limit for two-jet production in directϒ(1S) decays journal June 1986
Erratum to Search for neutral heavy leptons produced in Z decays journal September 1997
Dark photon from light scalar boson decays at FASER journal March 2021
Axionlike particles searches in reactor experiments journal March 2021
Serendipity in dark photon searches journal June 2018
Erratum to: Dark photon from light scalar boson decays at FASER journal June 2021
Constraints on a very light CP-odd Higgs of the NMSSM and other axion-like particles journal August 2010
The windows for kinetically mixed Z′-mediated dark matter and the galactic center gamma ray excess journal August 2014
Light Scalars at FASER journal August 2023
Search for neutral heavy leptons produced in Z decays journal March 1997
Quark-lepton symmetry and B − L as the U(1) generator of the electroweak symmetry group journal April 1980
Multi-gluon exchange in pp elastic scattering journal April 1983
Search for axion-like particle production in 400 GeV proton-copper interactions journal July 1985
An unambiguous search for a light Higgs boson journal October 1989
First observation of the neutral current nuclear excitation 12C(v,v′)12C∗(1+, 1) journal September 1991
Elastic scattering and diffraction dissociation journal October 1984
Geant4—a simulation toolkit
  • Agostinelli, S.; Allison, J.; Amako, K.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 506, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(03)01368-8
journal July 2003
Search for new physics in energetic single photon production in e+e− annihilation at the Z resonance journal October 1997
Limits on a light leptophobic gauge boson journal December 1998
FLArE up dark sectors with EM form factors at the LHC forward physics facility journal February 2023
Unbroken B – L symmetry journal December 2014
Limit on the production of a new vector boson in e + e − → Uγ, U → π + π − with the KLOE experiment journal June 2016
π0-η-η′ mixing from V → Pγ and P → Vγ decays journal August 2020
Search for dark photons with the FASER detector at the LHC journal January 2024
Anomalous tau neutrino appearance from light mediators in short-baseline neutrino experiments journal March 2024
KARMEN: Neutrino spectroscopy at ISIS conference January 1995
The Forward Physics Facility at the High-Luminosity LHC journal January 2023
Review of Particle Physics journal August 2022
New anomaly observed in He 4 supports the existence of the hypothetical X17 particle journal October 2021
New anomaly observed in C12 supports the existence and the vector character of the hypothetical X17 boson journal December 2022
Gauge-invariant tree-level photoproduction amplitudes with form factors journal July 1998
Photon- and meson-induced reactions on the nucleon journal January 1999
Nucleon resonances in ω photoproduction journal January 2001
Kaon photoproduction: Background contributions, form factors, and missing resonances journal November 2001
Vector meson production and nucleon resonance analysis in a coupled-channel approach for energies m N < s < 2 GeV . I. Pion-induced results and hadronic parameters journal November 2002
Vector meson production and nucleon resonance analysis in a coupled-channel approach for energies m N < s < 2 GeV . II. Photon-induced results journal November 2002
Measurement of the invariant-mass spectrum for the two photons from the η → π 0 γ γ decay journal July 2008
Electromagnetic form factors of nucleons in the extended vector meson dominance model journal September 2010
Nucleon resonances within a dynamical coupled-channels model of π N and γ N reactions journal September 2013
EPOS LHC: Test of collective hadronization with data measured at the CERN Large Hadron Collider journal September 2015
Nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung of dark gauge bosons and revised supernova constraints journal October 2016
Probing light gauge bosons in tau neutrino experiments journal July 2020
Dynamical evidence for a fifth force explanation of the ATOMKI nuclear anomalies journal August 2020
Exploring the robustness of stellar cooling constraints on light particles journal October 2020
Updated MiniBooNE neutrino oscillation results with increased data and new background studies journal March 2021
Detecting dark matter with far-forward emulsion and liquid argon detectors at the LHC journal April 2021
Supernova constraint on self-interacting dark sector particles journal May 2021
Forward experiment sensitivity estimator for the LHC and future hadron colliders journal August 2021
Looking forward to millicharged dark sectors at the LHC journal August 2021
Supernova bound on axionlike particles coupled with electrons journal November 2021
Improved exclusion limit for light dark matter from e+e− annihilation in NA64 journal November 2021
Hadrophilic dark sectors at the Forward Physics Facility journal April 2022
Probing neutrino-portal dark matter at the Forward Physics Facility journal April 2022
Dark sector production via proton bremsstrahlung journal May 2022
ALP searches at the LHC: FASER as a light-shining-through-walls experiment journal September 2022
Prospects for detecting axionlike particles at the Coherent CAPTAIN-Mills experiment journal May 2023
Neutrino constraints and the ATOMKI X17 anomaly journal July 2023
New constraints on ALP couplings to electrons and photons from ArgoNeuT and the MiniBooNE beam dump journal October 2023
Search for neutral metastable penetrating particles produced in the SLAC beam dump journal December 1988
Evidence for neutrino oscillations from the observation of ν ¯ e appearance in a ν ¯ μ beam journal November 2001
Final report of the E821 muon anomalous magnetic moment measurement at BNL journal April 2006
Need for purely laboratory-based axionlike particle searches journal January 2007
Search for Rare K + Decays. I. K + → μ + ν ν ¯ ν journal October 1973
Baryon and lepton number as local gauge symmetries journal July 2010
Erratum: Baryon and lepton number as local gauge symmetries [Phys. Rev. D 82 , 011901 (2010)] journal October 2010
Inclusive light hadron production inppscattering at the LHC journal December 2010
Dark matter, baryon asymmetry, and spontaneous B and L breaking journal January 2011
New physics and the proton radius problem journal August 2012
Exclusive diffractive photon bremsstrahlung at the LHC journal June 2013
New weakly coupled forces hidden in low-energy QCD journal June 2014
Constraints on dark photon from neutrino-electron scattering experiments journal August 2015
Particle physics models for the 17 MeV anomaly in beryllium nuclear decays journal February 2017
Dark forces coupled to nonconserved currents journal October 2017
Search for B → h ν ν ¯ decays with semileptonic tagging at Belle journal November 2017
Dark Higgs bosons at the ForwArd Search ExpeRiment journal March 2018
Resonant production of dark photons in positron beam dump experiments journal May 2018
Heavy neutral leptons at FASER journal May 2018
Publisher’s Note: Search for B → h ν ν ¯ decays with semileptonic tagging at Belle [Phys. Rev. D 96 , 091101(R) (2017)] journal May 2018
Axionlike particles at FASER: The LHC as a photon beam dump journal September 2018
Inelastic dark matter at the LHC lifetime frontier: ATLAS, CMS, LHCb, CODEX-b, FASER, and MATHUSLA journal January 2019
FASER’s physics reach for long-lived particles journal May 2019
New Measurement of the K + → π + ν ν ¯ Branching Ratio journal November 2008
Unexplained Excess of Electronlike Events from a 1-GeV Neutrino Beam journal March 2009
Search for a New Gauge Boson in Electron-Nucleus Fixed-Target Scattering by the APEX Experiment journal November 2011
Search at the Mainz Microtron for Light Massive Gauge Bosons Relevant for the Muon g − 2 Anomaly journal June 2014
Hidden GeV-Scale Interactions of Quarks journal August 2014
Search for a Dark Photon in e + e − Collisions at BaBar journal November 2014
Observation of Anomalous Internal Pair Creation in Be 8 : A Possible Indication of a Light, Neutral Boson journal January 2016
Protophobic Fifth-Force Interpretation of the Observed Anomaly in Be 8 Nuclear Transitions journal August 2016
New Constraints on Light Vectors Coupled to Anomalous Currents journal October 2017
Search for Dark Photons Produced in 13 TeV p p Collisions journal February 2018
Search for a Hypothetical 16.7 MeV Gauge Boson and Dark Photons in the NA64 Experiment at CERN journal June 2018
Significant Excess of Electronlike Events in the MiniBooNE Short-Baseline Neutrino Experiment journal November 2018
Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.46 ppm journal April 2021
Solutions to the MiniBooNE Anomaly from New Physics in Charged Meson Decays journal September 2022
Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.20 ppm journal October 2023
Search for Axion Production in Low-Energy Electron Bremsstrahlung journal June 1979
Search for Axion Production in Low-Energy Electron Bremsstrahlung journal July 1979
Local B − L Symmetry of Electroweak Interactions, Majorana Neutrinos, and Neutron Oscillations journal May 1980
Local B − L Symmetry of Electroweak Interactions, Majorana Neutrinos, and Neutron Oscillations journal June 1980
Search for Neutral Particles in Electron-Beam-Dump Experiment journal August 1986
Search for short-lived axions in an electron-beam-dump experiment journal August 1987
Search for short-lived particles produced in an electron beam dump journal November 1991
Search for the Rare Decay K L → π 0 e + e − journal July 2004
Chameleon Fields: Awaiting Surprises for Tests of Gravity in Space journal October 2004
Compatibility of Cast Search with Axionlike Interpretation of PVLAS Results journal October 2006
Reconciling the CAST and PVLAS Results journal January 2007
Light Scalars Coupled to Photons and Non-Newtonian Forces journal March 2007
Compatibility of the Chameleon-Field Model with Fifth-Force Experiments, Cosmology, and PVLAS and CAST Results journal September 2007
Nucleon electromagnetic form factors and polarization observables in space-like and time-like regions journal May 2005
Coupled-channel dynamics in the reactions πN → πN, ηN, KΛ, KΣ journal April 2013
Feebly-interacting particles: FIPs 2020 workshop report journal November 2021
Constraints on the U(1)L gauge boson in a wide mass range journal April 2016
Evading the Astrophysical Limits on Light Pseudoscalars journal December 2006
The Neutral Decay Modes of the Eta-Meson journal January 2002