No Arabic abstract
Light pseudoscalars interacting pre-dominantly with Standard Model gauge bosons (so-called axion-like particles or ALPs) occur frequently in extensions of the Standard Model. In this work we review and update existing constraints on ALPs in the keV to GeV mass region from colliders, beam dump experiments and astrophysics. We furthermore provide a detailed calculation of the expected sensitivity of Belle II, which can search for visibly and invisibly decaying ALPs, as well as long-lived ALPs. The Belle II sensitivity is found to be substantially better than previously estimated, covering wide ranges of relevant parameter space. In particular, Belle II can explore an interesting class of dark matter models, in which ALPs mediate the interactions between the Standard Model and dark matter. In these models, the relic abundance can be set via resonant freeze-out, leading to a highly predictive scenario consistent with all existing constraints but testable with single-photon searches at Belle II in the near future.
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.
Many dark matter models generically predict invisible and displaced signatures at Belle II, but even striking events may be missed by the currently implemented search programme because of inefficient trigger algorithms. Of particular interest are final states with a single photon accompanied by missing energy and a displaced pair of electrons, muons, or hadrons. We argue that a displaced vertex trigger will be essential to achieve optimal sensitivity at Belle II. To illustrate this point, we study a simple but well-motivated model of thermal inelastic dark matter in which this signature naturally occurs and show that otherwise inaccessible regions of parameter space can be tested with such a search. We also evaluate the sensitivity of single-photon searches at BaBar and Belle II to this model and provide detailed calculations of the relic density target.
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.
The QCD axion is a well-motivated addition to the standard model to solve the strong $CP$ problem. If the axion acquires mass dominantly from a hidden sector, it can be as heavy as $O(1)$ GeV, and the decay constant can be as low as $O(100)$ GeV without running into the axion quality problem. We propose new search strategies for such heavy QCD axions at the Belle II experiment, where the axions are expected to be produced via $Bto K a$. We find that a subsequent decay $ato 3pi$ with a displaced vertex leads to a unique signal with essentially no background, and that a dedicated search can explore the range $O(1-$$10)$ TeV of decay-constant values. We also show that $ato gammagamma$ can cover a significant portion of currently unexplored region of $150 lesssim m_a lesssim 500$ MeV.
We present a search for the direct production of a light pseudoscalar $a$ decaying into two photons with the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB collider. We search for the process ${e^+e^-togamma a, a togammagamma}$ in the mass range ${0.2} ,< m_a < {9.7},{text{GeV/$c$}^2}$ using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $(445pm 3),text{pb}^{-1}$. Light pseudoscalars interacting predominantly with standard model gauge bosons (so-called axion-like particles or ALPs) are frequently postulated in extensions of the standard model. We find no evidence for ALPs and set 95% confidence level upper limits on the coupling strength $g_{agammagamma}$ of ALPs to photons at the level of $10^{-3},{text{GeV}^{-1}}$. The limits are the most restrictive to date for $0.2,<,m_a,<,1,{text{GeV/$c$}^2}$.