Abstract

The NA62 experiment at CERN, designed to study the ultra-rare decay K+ → π+νν¯, has also collected data in beam-dump mode. In this configuration, dark photons may be produced by protons dumped on an absorber and reach a decay volume beginning 80 m downstream. A search for dark photons decaying in flight to μ+μ− pairs is reported, based on a sample of 1.4 × 1017 protons on dump collected in 2021. No evidence for a dark photon signal is observed. A region of the parameter space is excluded at 90% CL, improving on previous experimental limits for dark photon masses between 215 and 550 MeV/c2.

Details

Title
Search for dark photon decays to μ+μ− at NA62
Author
Cortina Gil, E. 1 ; Jerhot, J. 1 ; Kleimenova, A. 2 ; Lurkin, N. 1 ; Zamkovsky, M. 3 ; Numao, T. 4 ; Velghe, B. 4 ; Wong, V. W. S. 4 ; Bryman, D. 5 ; Hives, Z. 6 ; Husek, T. 6 ; Kampf, K. 6 ; Koval, M. 6 ; De Martino, B. 7 ; Perrin-Terrin, M. 7 ; Akmete, A. T. 8 ; Aliberti, R. 9 ; Di Lella, L. 8 ; Doble, N. 8 ; Peruzzo, L. 8 ; Schuchmann, S. 8 ; Wahl, H. 8 ; Wanke, R. 8 ; Dalpiaz, P. 10 ; Mazzolari, A. 10 ; Neri, I. 10 ; Petrucci, F. 10 ; Soldani, M. 10 ; Bandiera, L. 11 ; Cotta Ramusino, A. 11 ; Gianoli, A. 11 ; Romagnoni, M. 11 ; Sytov, A. 11 ; Lenti, M. 12 ; Lo Chiatto, P. 12 ; Marchevski, R. 13 ; Panichi, I. 12 ; Ruggiero, G. 12 ; Bizzeti, A. 14 ; Bucci, F. 15 ; Antonelli, A. 16 ; Kozhuharov, V. 17 ; Lanfranchi, G. 16 ; Martellotti, S. 16 ; Moulson, M. 16 ; Spadaro, T. 16 ; Tinti, G. 16 ; Ambrosino, F. 18 ; D’Errico, M. 18 ; Fiorenza, R. 19 ; Giordano, R. 18 ; Massarotti, P. 18 ; Mirra, M. 18 ; Napolitano, M. 18 ; Rosa, I. 18 ; Saracino, G. 18 ; Anzivino, G. 20 ; Brizioli, F. 21 ; Cenci, P. 22 ; Duk, V. 22 ; Lollini, R. 22 ; Lubrano, P. 22 ; Pepe, M. 22 ; Piccini, M. 22 ; Costantini, F. 23 ; Giorgi, M. 23 ; Giudici, S. 23 ; Lamanna, G. 23 ; Lari, E. 23 ; Pedreschi, E. 23 ; Pinzino, J. 23 ; Sozzi, M. 23 ; Fantechi, R. 24 ; Spinella, F. 24 ; Mannelli, I. 25 ; Raggi, M. 26 ; Biagioni, A. 27 ; Cretaro, P. 27 ; Frezza, O. 27 ; Lonardo, A. 27 ; Turisini, M. 27 ; Vicini, P. 27 ; Ammendola, R. 28 ; Bonaiuto, V. 29 ; Fucci, A. 28 ; Salamon, A. 28 ; Sargeni, F. 30 ; Arcidiacono, R. 31 ; Bloch-Devaux, B. 32 ; Menichetti, E. 32 ; Migliore, E. 32 ; Biino, C. 33 ; Filippi, A. 33 ; Marchetto, F. 33 ; Soldi, D. 33 ; Briano Olvera, A. 34 ; Engelfried, J. 34 ; Estrada-Tristan, N. 35 ; Piandani, R. 34 ; Reyes Santos, M. A. 35 ; Boboc, P. 36 ; Bragadireanu, A. M. 36 ; Ghinescu, S. A. 36 ; Hutanu, O. E. 36 ; Blazek, T. 37 ; Cerny, V. 37 ; Kucerova, Z. 38 ; Volpe, R. 39 ; Bernhard, J. 40 ; Bician, L. 41 ; Boretto, M. 40 ; Ceccucci, A. 40 ; Ceoletta, M. 40 ; Corvino, M. 40 ; Danielsson, H. 40 ; Duval, F. 40 ; Döbrich, B. 42 ; Federici, L. 40 ; Gamberini, E. 40 ; Guida, R. 40 ; Holzer, E. B. 40 ; Jenninger, B. 40 ; Lehmann Miotto, G. 40 ; Lichard, P. 40 ; Massri, K. 40 ; Minucci, E. 43 ; Noy, M. 40 ; Ryjov, V. 40 ; Swallow, J. 40 ; Fry, J. R. 44 ; Gonnella, F. 44 ; Goudzovski, E. 44 ; Henshaw, J. 44 ; Kenworthy, C. 44 ; Lazzeroni, C. 44 ; Parkinson, C. 44 ; Romano, A. 44 ; Sanders, J. 44 ; Sergi, A. 45 ; Shaikhiev, A. 46 ; Tomczak, A. 44 ; Heath, H. 47 ; Britton, D. 48 ; Norton, A. 48 ; Protopopescu, D. 48 ; Dainton, J. B. 49 ; Gatignon, L. 49 ; Jones, R. W. L. 49 ; Cooper, P. 50 ; Coward, D. 51 ; Rubin, P. 50 ; Baeva, A.; Baigarashev, D. 52 ; Emelyanov, D.; Enik, T.; Falaleev, V. 22 ; Fedotov, S.; Gorshanov, K.; Gushchin, E.; Kekelidze, V.; Kereibay, D.; Kholodenko, S. 24 ; Khotyantsev, A.; Korotkova, A.; Kudenko, Y.; Kurochka, V.; Kurshetsov, V.; Litov, L. 53 ; Madigozhin, D.; Mefodev, A.; Misheva, M. 54 ; Molokanova, N.; Obraztsov, V.; Okhotnikov, A.; Polenkevich, I.; Potrebenikov, Yu.; Sadovskiy, A.; Shkarovskiy, S.; Sugonyaev, V.; Yushchenko, O.

1  Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium (GRID:grid.7942.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2294 713X) 
2  Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium (GRID:grid.7942.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2294 713X); Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5333.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2183 9049) 
3  Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium (GRID:grid.7942.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2294 713X); CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X) 
4  TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada (GRID:grid.232474.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 0705 9791) 
5  TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada (GRID:grid.232474.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 0705 9791); University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (GRID:grid.17091.3e) (ISNI:0000 0001 2288 9830) 
6  Charles University, Prague 1, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.4491.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 116X) 
7  Aix Marseille University, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France (GRID:grid.5399.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 4817) 
8  Universität Mainz, Institut für Physik and PRISMA Cluster of Excellence, Mainz, Germany (GRID:grid.5802.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 1941 7111) 
9  Universität Mainz, Institut für Physik and PRISMA Cluster of Excellence, Mainz, Germany (GRID:grid.5802.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 1941 7111); Universität Mainz, Institut für Kernphysik and Helmholtz Institute Mainz, Mainz, Germany (GRID:grid.5802.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 1941 7111) 
10  Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy (GRID:grid.470200.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1765 4414) 
11  INFN, Sezione di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy (GRID:grid.470200.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1765 4414) 
12  Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy (GRID:grid.470204.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2231 4148) 
13  Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy (GRID:grid.470204.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2231 4148); Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5333.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2183 9049) 
14  INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy (GRID:grid.470204.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2231 4148); Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Informatiche e Matematiche, Modena, Italy (GRID:grid.7548.e) (ISNI:0000000121697570) 
15  INFN, Sezione di Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy (GRID:grid.470204.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2231 4148) 
16  Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati, Italy (GRID:grid.463190.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 0648 0236) 
17  Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati, Italy (GRID:grid.463190.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 0648 0236); University of Sofia, Faculty of Physics, Sofia, Bulgaria (GRID:grid.11355.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2192 3275) 
18  Dipartimento di Fisica “Ettore Pancini” e INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Italy (GRID:grid.470211.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 8343 7696) 
19  Dipartimento di Fisica “Ettore Pancini” e INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Italy (GRID:grid.470211.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 8343 7696); Scuola Superiore Meridionale e INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Italy (GRID:grid.470211.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 8343 7696) 
20  Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Perugia, Perugia, Italy (GRID:grid.470215.5) 
21  INFN, Sezione di Perugia, Perugia, Italy (GRID:grid.470215.5); CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X) 
22  INFN, Sezione di Perugia, Perugia, Italy (GRID:grid.470215.5) 
23  Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy (GRID:grid.470216.6) 
24  INFN, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy (GRID:grid.470216.6) 
25  Scuola Normale Superiore e INFN, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy (GRID:grid.470216.6) 
26  Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma e INFN, Sezione di Roma I, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.7841.a) 
27  INFN, Sezione di Roma I, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.470218.8) 
28  INFN, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.470219.9) 
29  INFN, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.470219.9); University of Roma Tor Vergata, Department of Industrial Engineering, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.6530.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2300 0941) 
30  INFN, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.470219.9); University of Roma Tor Vergata, Department of Electronic Engineering, Roma, Italy (GRID:grid.6530.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2300 0941) 
31  Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy (GRID:grid.470222.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 7471 9712); Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale, Vercelli, Italy (GRID:grid.16563.37) (ISNI:0000000121663741) 
32  Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy (GRID:grid.470222.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 7471 9712) 
33  INFN, Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy (GRID:grid.470222.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 7471 9712) 
34  Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Instituto de Física, San Luis Potosí, Mexico (GRID:grid.412862.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2191 239X) 
35  Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Instituto de Física, San Luis Potosí, Mexico (GRID:grid.412862.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2191 239X); Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico (GRID:grid.412891.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 0561 8457) 
36  Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest-Magurele, Romania (GRID:grid.443874.8) (ISNI:0000 0000 9463 5349) 
37  Comenius University, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Bratislava, Slovakia (GRID:grid.7634.6) (ISNI:0000000109409708) 
38  Comenius University, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Bratislava, Slovakia (GRID:grid.7634.6) (ISNI:0000000109409708); CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X) 
39  INFN, Sezione di Perugia, Perugia, Italy (GRID:grid.470215.5); Comenius University, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Bratislava, Slovakia (GRID:grid.7634.6) (ISNI:0000000109409708) 
40  CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X) 
41  Charles University, Prague 1, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.4491.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 116X); CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X) 
42  CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X); Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut), München, Germany (GRID:grid.435824.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2375 0603) 
43  CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva 23, Switzerland (GRID:grid.9132.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 142X); Syracuse University, Syracuse, U.S.A. (GRID:grid.264484.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2189 1568) 
44  University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham, United Kingdom (GRID:grid.6572.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7486) 
45  University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham, United Kingdom (GRID:grid.6572.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7486); Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università e INFN, Sezione di Genova, Genova, Italy (GRID:grid.470205.4) 
46  University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham, United Kingdom (GRID:grid.6572.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7486); University of Lancaster, Faculty of Science and Technology, Lancaster, U.K. (GRID:grid.9835.7) (ISNI:0000 0000 8190 6402) 
47  University of Bristol, School of Physics, Bristol, United Kingdom (GRID:grid.5337.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7603) 
48  University of Glasgow, School of Physics and Astronomy, Glasgow, United Kingdom (GRID:grid.8756.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2193 314X) 
49  University of Lancaster, Faculty of Science and Technology, Lancaster, U.K. (GRID:grid.9835.7) (ISNI:0000 0000 8190 6402) 
50  George Mason University, Physics and Astronomy Department, Fairfax, U.S.A. (GRID:grid.22448.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8032) 
51  George Mason University, Physics and Astronomy Department, Fairfax, U.S.A. (GRID:grid.22448.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8032); Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, U.S.A. (GRID:grid.168010.e) (ISNI:0000000419368956) 
52  L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan (GRID:grid.55380.3b) (ISNI:0000 0004 0398 5415) 
53  University of Sofia, Faculty of Physics, Sofia, Bulgaria (GRID:grid.11355.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2192 3275) 
54  Institute of Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy of Bulgarian Academy of Science (INRNE-BAS), Sofia, Bulgaria (GRID:grid.425050.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 0519 4756) 
Pages
35
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Sep 2023
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
e-ISSN
10298479
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2023)035
ProQuest document ID
2862003365
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.