2024/05/25 by Aguilar-Arevalo, Alexis A., Avalos, Nicolas, Bellino, Pablo +37 · 2 citations
#FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2405.16316
Millicharged particles, proposed by various extensions of the standard model, can be created in pairs by high-energy photons within nuclear reactors and can interact electromagnetically with electrons in matter. Recently, the existence of a plasmon peak in the interaction cross-section with silicon in the eV range was highlighted as a promising approach to enhance low-energy sensitivities. The CONNIE and Atucha-II reactor neutrino experiments utilize Skipper-CCD sensors, which enable the detection of interactions in the eV range. We present world-leading limits on the charge of millicharged particles within a mass range spanning six orders of magnitude, derived through a comprehensive analysis and the combination of data from both experiments.