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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02821 |
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| _version_ | 1866909768085405696 |
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| author | Arifeen, Shafakat Ouimet, Pierre-Philippe Pinfold, James Staelens, Michael |
| author_facet | Arifeen, Shafakat Ouimet, Pierre-Philippe Pinfold, James Staelens, Michael |
| contents | We investigate the potential for detecting pion-like dark matter within the framework of a Strongly Interacting Massive Particle (SIMP) model using the MoEDAL Apparatus for Penetrating Particles (MAPP) at the LHC. The model, motivated by Chiral Perturbation Theory, features milli-charged dark pions that couple to Standard Model particles via kinetic mixing with a dark photon. Production channels considered include Drell--Yan pair production and photon fusion via the Wess--Zumino--Witten term, the latter providing a distinctive three-body final state signature. Cross-sections are computed using MadGraph and WHIZARD for a range of dark pion masses, decay constants, and dark $Z$ boson masses. Sensitivity projections for MAPP-1 during the High-Luminosity LHC phase are presented under a background-free assumption, showing competitive reach into previously unexplored parameter space for milli-charged dark pseudoscalars. These results highlight the complementary role of MoEDAL-MAPP in probing dark sector models and motivate further detector-level simulations to refine exclusion limits. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_02821 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Searching for Dark Pions with the MoEDAL-MAPP Detector at the LHC Arifeen, Shafakat Ouimet, Pierre-Philippe Pinfold, James Staelens, Michael High Energy Physics - Phenomenology We investigate the potential for detecting pion-like dark matter within the framework of a Strongly Interacting Massive Particle (SIMP) model using the MoEDAL Apparatus for Penetrating Particles (MAPP) at the LHC. The model, motivated by Chiral Perturbation Theory, features milli-charged dark pions that couple to Standard Model particles via kinetic mixing with a dark photon. Production channels considered include Drell--Yan pair production and photon fusion via the Wess--Zumino--Witten term, the latter providing a distinctive three-body final state signature. Cross-sections are computed using MadGraph and WHIZARD for a range of dark pion masses, decay constants, and dark $Z$ boson masses. Sensitivity projections for MAPP-1 during the High-Luminosity LHC phase are presented under a background-free assumption, showing competitive reach into previously unexplored parameter space for milli-charged dark pseudoscalars. These results highlight the complementary role of MoEDAL-MAPP in probing dark sector models and motivate further detector-level simulations to refine exclusion limits. |
| title | Searching for Dark Pions with the MoEDAL-MAPP Detector at the LHC |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02821 |