14–18 Jun 2021
Online Workshop
Europe/Rome timezone

Searches for a feebly interacting particles at the NA62 experiment

14 Jun 2021, 18:20
20m
Online Workshop

Online Workshop

Speaker

Dario Soldi (TO)

Description

The high-intensity setup and detector performance make the NA62 experiment at CERN particularly suited for searching new physics effects from different scenarios involving feebly interacting particles in the MeV-GeV mass range.
A search for the K+→π+X decay, where X is a long-lived feebly interacting particle, is performed through an interpretation of the K+→π+νν ̄ analysis of data collected in 2016-2018. Model- dependent upper limits are obtained assuming X to be an axion-like particle with dominant fermion couplings or a dark scalar mixing with the Standard Model Higgs. Upper limits set on the branching ratio BR(K+→π+X) improve on current limits for mX below 260 MeV/c2 and rest lifetimes above 100 ps.
Searches for K+ → e+N, K+→μ+N and K+→μ+νX decays, where N and X are massive invisible particles, were performed by NA62 using the 2016-2018 data set.
The N particle is assumed to be a heavy neutral lepton, and the results are expressed as upper limits of O(10−9) and O(10−8) of the neutrino mixing parameter |Ue4|2 and |Uμ4|2, improving on the earlier searches for heavy neutral lepton production and decays in the kinematically accessible mass range. The X particle is considered a scalar or vector hidden sector mediator decaying to an invisible final state, and upper limits of the decay branching fraction for X masses in the range 10-370 MeV/c2 are reported for the first time, ranging from O(10−5) to O(10−7).
A study of a sample of 4×10ˆ9 tagged π0 mesons from K+→π+π0(γ) is performed, searching for the decay of the π0 to invisible particles. No signal is observed in excess of the expected background fluctuations. An upper limit of 4.4×10−9 is set on the branching ratio at 90% C.L. improving on previous results by a factor of 60.

Speaker Dario Soldi

Primary author

Dario Soldi (TO)

Presentation materials