A<sc>bstract</sc> We report a search for an axion-like particleainB→K(*)adecays using data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy electron-positron collider. The search is based on a 711 fb−1data sample collected at the Υ(4S) resonance energy, corresponding to a sample of 772 × 106Υ(4S) events. In this study, we search for the decay of the axion-like particle into a pair of photons,a→γγ. We scan the two-photon invariant mass in the range 0.16 GeV–4.50 GeV for theKmodes and 0.16 GeV–4.20 GeV for theK*modes. No significant signal is observed in any of the modes, and 90% confidence level upper limits are established on the coupling to theWboson,gaW, as a function ofamass. The limits range from 3×10−6GeV−1to 3×10−5GeV−1, improving the current constraints ongaWby a factor of two over the most stringent previous experimental results.
more »
« less
Probing axion-like particles at the Electron-Ion Collider
A<sc>bstract</sc> The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a forthcoming powerful high-luminosity facility, represents an exciting opportunity to explore new physics. In this article, we study the potential of the EIC to probe the coupling between axion-like particles (ALPs) and photons in coherent scattering. The ALPs can be produced via photon fusion and decay back to two photons inside the EIC detector. In a prompt-decay search, we find that the EIC can set the most stringent bound forma≲ 20 GeV and probe the effective scales Λ ≲ 105GeV. In a displaced-vertex search, which requires adopting an EM calorimeter technology that provides directionality, the EIC could probe ALPs withma≲ 1 GeV at effective scales Λ ≲ 107GeV. Combining the two search strategies, the EIC can probe a significant portion of unexplored parameter space in the 0.2 <ma< 20 GeV mass range.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2209181
- PAR ID:
- 10506605
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of High Energy Physics
- Volume:
- 2024
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1029-8479
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
A<sc>bstract</sc> The first FASER search for a light, long-lived particle decaying into a pair of photons is reported. The search uses LHC proton-proton collision data at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 13.6 TeV collected in 2022 and 2023, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 57.7 fb−1. A model with axion-like particles (ALPs) dominantly coupled to weak gauge bosons is the primary target. Signal events are characterised by high-energy deposits in the electromagnetic calorimeter and no signal in the veto scintillators. One event is observed, compared to a background expectation of 0.44 ± 0.39 events, which is entirely dominated by neutrino interactions. World-leading constraints on ALPs are obtained for masses up to 300 MeV and couplings to the Standard Model W gauge boson,gaWW, around 10−4GeV−1, testing a previously unexplored region of parameter space. Other new particle models that lead to the same experimental signature, including ALPs coupled to gluons or photons, U(1)Bgauge bosons, up-philic scalars, and a Type-I two-Higgs doublet model, are also considered for interpretation, and new constraints on previously viable parameter space are presented in this paper.more » « less
-
Abstract Axion-like particles (ALPs) are hypothetical particles and compelling candidates for cold dark matter. Their existence could be probed through their conversions into photons in the presence of magnetic fields. In this work, we explore the effect of these photon-ALP conversions by searching for an attenuation in the observed gamma ray spectra of galactic sources that emit at energies of hundreds of TeV. We analyze data from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory for the source 3HWC J1908+063. No evidence of photon-ALP conversions was found, and we set constraints on the ALP parameter space. Specifically, we derive exclusion limits for ALPs with masses in the range 10-8 eV ≤ma≤ 10-6 eV and photon-ALP couplings in the range 10-12 GeV-1≤gaγ≤ 10-10 GeV-1, based on HAWC observations.more » « less
-
A<sc>bstract</sc> An inclusive search for long-lived exotic particles decaying to a pair of muons is presented. The search uses data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 13 TeV in 2016 and 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 97.6 fb−1. The experimental signature is a pair of oppositely charged muons originating from a common secondary vertex spatially separated from the pp interaction point by distances ranging from several hundredμm to several meters. The results are interpreted in the frameworks of the hidden Abelian Higgs model, in which the Higgs boson decays to a pair of long-lived dark photons ZD, and of a simplified model, in which long-lived particles are produced in decays of an exotic heavy neutral scalar boson. For the hidden Abelian Higgs model withm(ZD) greater than 20 GeV and less than half the mass of the Higgs boson, they provide the best limits to date on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson to dark photons forcτ(ZD) (varying withm(ZD)) between 0.03 and ≈0.5 mm, and above ≈0.5 m. Our results also yield the best constraints on long-lived particles with masses larger than 10 GeV produced in decays of an exotic scalar boson heavier than the Higgs boson and decaying to a pair of muons.more » « less
-
A<sc>bstract</sc> A search for long-lived heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) is presented, which considers the hadronic final state and coupling scenarios involving all three lepton generations in the 2–20 GeV HNL mass range for the first time. Events comprising two leptons (electrons or muons) and jets are analyzed in a data sample of proton-proton collisions, recorded with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. A novel jet tagger, based on a deep neural network, has been developed to identify jets from an HNL decay using various features of the jet and its constituent particles. The network output can be used as a powerful discriminating tool to probe a broad range of HNL lifetimes and masses. Contributions from background processes are determined from data. No excess of events in data over the expected background is observed. Upper limits on the HNL production cross section are derived as functions of the HNL mass and the three coupling strengthsVℓNto each lepton generationℓand presented as exclusion limits in the coupling-mass plane, as lower limits on the HNL lifetime, and on the HNL mass. In this search, the most stringent limit on the coupling strength is obtained for pure muon coupling scenarios; values of|$$ {V}_{\mu \textrm{N}}^2 $$ |> 5 (4)×10−7are excluded for Dirac (Majorana) HNLs with a mass of 10 GeV at a confidence level of 95% that correspond to proper decay lengths of 17 (10) mm.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

