Abstract
We present a search for long-lived particles (LLPs), produced in kaon decays, that decay to two muons inside the ICARUS neutrino detector. This channel would be a signal of hidden sector models that can address outstanding issues in particle physics such as the strong CP problem and the microphysical origin of dark matter. The search is performed with data collected in the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beam at Fermilab corresponding to 2.41×1020 protons-on-target. No new physics signal is observed, and we set world leading limits on heavy QCD axions, as well as for the Higgs portal scalar among dedicated searches. Limits are also presented in a model-independent way applicable to any new physics model predicting the process K→π+S(→μμ), for a LLP S. This result is the first search for new physics performed with the ICARUS detector at Fermilab. It paves the way for the future program of LLP searches at ICARUS.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 151801 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 134 |
| Issue number | 15 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 18 2025 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This document was prepared by the ICARUS Collaboration using the resources of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, HEP User Facility. Fermilab is managed by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (FRA), acting under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy; INFN; EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreements No. 734303, No. 822185, No. 858199, and No. 101003460; and the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 101081478. We also acknowledge the contribution of many SBND colleagues, in particular for the development of a number of simulation, reconstruction, and analysis tools which are shared within the SBN program.