No Arabic abstract
Axion-like particles (ALPs), relatively light (pseudo-)scalars coupled to two gauge bosons, are a common feature of many extensions of the Standard Model. Up to now there has been a gap in the sensitivity to such particles in the MeV to 10 GeV range. In this note we show that LEP data on $Ztogammagamma$ decays provides significant constraints in this range (and indeed up to the $Z$-mass). We also discuss the sensitivities of LHC and future colliders. Particularly the LHC shows promising sensitivity in searching for a pseudo-scalar with $4 lesssim m_a lesssim 60$ GeV in the channel $pp to 3 gamma$ with $m_{3gamma}approx m_{Z}$.
We study charged lepton flavor violation associated with a light leptophilic axion-like particle (ALP), $X$, at the $B$-factory experiment Belle II. We focus on production of the ALP in the tau decays $tau to X l$ with $l=e,mu$, followed by its decay via $Xto l^- l^+$. The ALP can be either promptly decaying or long-lived. We perform Monte-Carlo simulations, recasting a prompt search at Belle for lepton-flavor-violating $tau$ decays, and propose a displaced-vertex (DV) search. For both types of searches, we derive the Belle~II sensitivity reaches in both the product of branching fractions and the ALP coupling constants, as functions of the ALP mass and lifetime. The results show that the DV search exceeds the sensitivity reach of the prompt search to the relevant branching fractions by up to about a factor of 40 in the long decay length regime.
We propose a new collider probe for axion-like particles (ALPs), and more generally for pseudo-Goldstone bosons: non-resonant searches which take advantage of the derivative nature of their interactions with Standard Model particles. ALPs can participate as off-shell mediators in the $s$-channel of $2 to 2$ scattering processes at colliders like the LHC. We exemplify the power of this novel type of search by deriving new limits on ALP couplings to gauge bosons via the processes $p p to Z Z$, $p p to gamma gamma$ and $p p to j j$ using Run 2 CMS public data, probing previously unexplored areas of the ALP parameter space. In addition, we propose future non-resonant searches involving the ALP coupling to other electroweak bosons and/or the Higgs particle.
We present a novel data-driven method for determining the hadronic interaction strengths of axion-like particles (ALPs) with QCD-scale masses. Using our method, it is possible to calculate the hadronic production and decay rates of ALPs, along with many of the largest ALP decay rate to exclusive final states. To illustrate the impact on QCD-scale ALP phenomenology, we consider the scenario where the ALP-gluon coupling is dominant over the ALP coupling to photons, electroweak bosons, and all fermions for $m_{pi} lesssim m_a lesssim 3$ GeV. We emphasize, however, that our method can easily be generalized to any set of ALP couplings to SM particles. Finally, using the approach developed here, we provide calculations for the branching fractions of $eta_c to VV$ decays, i.e. $eta_c$ decays into two vector mesons, which are consistent with the known experimental values.
We explore the sensitivity of photon-beam experiments to axion-like particles (ALPs) with QCD-scale masses whose dominant coupling to the Standard Model is either to photons or gluons. We introduce a novel data-driven method that eliminates the need for knowledge of nuclear form factors or the photon-beam flux when considering coherent Primakoff production off a nuclear target, and show that data collected by the PrimEx experiment could substantially improve the sensitivity to ALPs with $0.03 lesssim m_a lesssim 0.3$ GeV. Furthermore, we explore the potential sensitivity of running the GlueX experiment with a nuclear target and its planned PrimEx-like calorimeter. For the case where the dominant coupling is to gluons, we study photoproduction for the first time, and predict the future sensitivity of the GlueX experiment using its nominal proton target. Finally, we set world-leading limits for both the ALP-gluon coupling and the ALP-photon coupling based on public mass plots.
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are predicted by many extensions of the Standard Model (SM). When ALP mass lies in the range of MeV to GeV, the cosmology and astrophysics will be largely irrelevant. In this work, we investigate such light ALPs through the ALP-strahlung process $pp to V a (to gammagamma)$ at the LHC. With the photon-jet algorithm, we demonstrate that our approach can extend the LHC sensitivity and improve the existing limits on ALP-photon coulping in the ALP mass range from 0.3 GeV to 10 GeV at the 14 TeV LHC with an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb$^{-1}$.