2016/03/31 by Philip Ilten, Yotam Soreq, Jesse Thaler +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #hep-ph #hep-ex
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.116.251803
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 251803 (2016) · 5+5 pages, 5 figures; v2: approximate version to appear in PRL, enlarged figure at end
arxiv created 2016/06/21 · arxiv updated 2016/06/29
We propose an inclusive search for dark photons A' at the LHCb experiment based on both prompt and displaced di-muon resonances. Because the couplings of the dark photon are inherited from the photon via kinetic mixing, the dark photon A' → μ+ μ- rate can be directly inferred from the off-shell photon γ^* → μ+ μ- rate, making this a fully data-driven search. For Run 3 of the LHC, we estimate that LHCb will have sensitivity to large regions of the unexplored dark-photon parameter space, especially in the 210-520 MeV and 10-40 GeV mass ranges. This search leverages the excellent invariant-mass and vertex resolution of LHCb, along with its unique particle-identification and real-time data-analysis capabilities.