New prospects in fixed target searches for dark forces with the SeaQuest experiment at Fermilab

S. Gardner, R. J. Holt, A. S. Tadepalli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

An intense 120 GeV proton beam incident on an extremely long iron target generates enormous numbers of light-mass particles that also decay within that target. If one of these particles decays to a final state with a hidden gauge boson, or if such a particle is produced as a result of the initial collision, then that weakly interacting hidden-sector particle may traverse the remainder of the target and be detected downstream through its possible decay to an e+e-, μ+μ-, or π+π- final state. These conditions can be realized through an extension of the SeaQuest experiment at Fermilab, and in this initial investigation we consider how it can serve as an ultrasensitive probe of hidden vector gauge forces, both Abelian and non-Abelian. A light, weakly coupled hidden sector may well explain the dark matter established through astrophysical observations, and the proposed search can provide tangible evidence for its existence - or, alternatively, constrain a "sea" of possibilities.

Original languageEnglish
Article number115015
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume93
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 10 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, Contracts No.DE-FG02-96ER40989 (S.G.) and No.DE-AC02-06CH11357 (R.H.), and by National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant No.NSF PHY 1306126 (A.T).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Physical Society.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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