_version_ 1866910027109892096
author Bhattarai, Prithak
Brandt, Andrew
Bross, Alan
Brown, Bradley
Chakraborty, Samriddha
Che, Haohui
Dev, Bhupal
Dutta, Bhaskar
Estrada, Juan V.
Garcia, Eric
Gomez, Anthony
Gurung, Gajendra
Hernandez, Brian Joshua Gomez
Jang, Wooyoung
Jo, Jay Hyun
Jodłowski, Krzysztof
Kim, Doojin
Kim, Eunsu
Kim, Hyunyong
Kim, Shin Hyung
Kim, Young-Kee
Liu, Jing
Moon, Chang-Seong
Naples, Donna
Nygren, David
Oh, Minseok
Paolone, Vittorio
Park, Hyangkyu
Park, Jong-Chul
Pastika, Nathaniel J.
Raut, Rohit
Reichenbacher, Juergen
Rubinov, Paul
Seo, Eunsuk
Shalamova, Veronika
Shin, Seodong
Shochet, Melvin
Thompson, Adrian
Wah, Yau
Westerdale, Shawn
Yang, Guang
Yang, Un-Ki
Yoon, Inseok
Yu, Jaehoon
author_facet Bhattarai, Prithak
Brandt, Andrew
Bross, Alan
Brown, Bradley
Chakraborty, Samriddha
Che, Haohui
Dev, Bhupal
Dutta, Bhaskar
Estrada, Juan V.
Garcia, Eric
Gomez, Anthony
Gurung, Gajendra
Hernandez, Brian Joshua Gomez
Jang, Wooyoung
Jo, Jay Hyun
Jodłowski, Krzysztof
Kim, Doojin
Kim, Eunsu
Kim, Hyunyong
Kim, Shin Hyung
Kim, Young-Kee
Liu, Jing
Moon, Chang-Seong
Naples, Donna
Nygren, David
Oh, Minseok
Paolone, Vittorio
Park, Hyangkyu
Park, Jong-Chul
Pastika, Nathaniel J.
Raut, Rohit
Reichenbacher, Juergen
Rubinov, Paul
Seo, Eunsuk
Shalamova, Veronika
Shin, Seodong
Shochet, Melvin
Thompson, Adrian
Wah, Yau
Westerdale, Shawn
Yang, Guang
Yang, Un-Ki
Yoon, Inseok
Yu, Jaehoon
contents DAMSA (DArk Messenger Searches at an Accelerator) is a novel short-baseline accelerator experiment aimed at probing short-lived physics processes, including searches for evidence of a dark sector of particle physics and well-motivated Standard Model signals. Motivated by open questions in neutrino physics and the absence of conclusive evidence for conventional weakly interacting massive particles, DAMSA targets MeV-to-sub-GeV dark-sector messengers with feeble couplings that can be produced in abundance at the PIP-II LINAC. By employing an ultra-short baseline of order one meter, DAMSA is uniquely positioned to overcome the beam-dump "ceiling" that limits sensitivity to promptly decaying particles in longer-baseline experiments. The conceptual design emphasizes a beam-dump production scheme combined with a compact detector optimized for rare decays while mitigating intense neutron-induced backgrounds inherent to high-power proton beams. To validate the experimental strategy and detector technologies, the Little DAMSA Path-Finder (LDPF) proof-of-concept experiment is proposed, focusing on axion-like particles decaying to two photons and operating with 300 MeV electron beams at FAST. Successful realization of LDPF will establish the feasibility of the DAMSA approach, enabling a broad and powerful program to explore short-lived new physics and precision Standard Model processes in a previously inaccessible regime. This conceptual design document outlines the technical details of DAMSA's physics goals, the beam facility proposals, key experimental challenges and how to overcome them, and the proposed experimental staging campaigns.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_15255
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle DAMSA Experiment Conceptual Design White Paper
Bhattarai, Prithak
Brandt, Andrew
Bross, Alan
Brown, Bradley
Chakraborty, Samriddha
Che, Haohui
Dev, Bhupal
Dutta, Bhaskar
Estrada, Juan V.
Garcia, Eric
Gomez, Anthony
Gurung, Gajendra
Hernandez, Brian Joshua Gomez
Jang, Wooyoung
Jo, Jay Hyun
Jodłowski, Krzysztof
Kim, Doojin
Kim, Eunsu
Kim, Hyunyong
Kim, Shin Hyung
Kim, Young-Kee
Liu, Jing
Moon, Chang-Seong
Naples, Donna
Nygren, David
Oh, Minseok
Paolone, Vittorio
Park, Hyangkyu
Park, Jong-Chul
Pastika, Nathaniel J.
Raut, Rohit
Reichenbacher, Juergen
Rubinov, Paul
Seo, Eunsuk
Shalamova, Veronika
Shin, Seodong
Shochet, Melvin
Thompson, Adrian
Wah, Yau
Westerdale, Shawn
Yang, Guang
Yang, Un-Ki
Yoon, Inseok
Yu, Jaehoon
High Energy Physics - Experiment
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
DAMSA (DArk Messenger Searches at an Accelerator) is a novel short-baseline accelerator experiment aimed at probing short-lived physics processes, including searches for evidence of a dark sector of particle physics and well-motivated Standard Model signals. Motivated by open questions in neutrino physics and the absence of conclusive evidence for conventional weakly interacting massive particles, DAMSA targets MeV-to-sub-GeV dark-sector messengers with feeble couplings that can be produced in abundance at the PIP-II LINAC. By employing an ultra-short baseline of order one meter, DAMSA is uniquely positioned to overcome the beam-dump "ceiling" that limits sensitivity to promptly decaying particles in longer-baseline experiments. The conceptual design emphasizes a beam-dump production scheme combined with a compact detector optimized for rare decays while mitigating intense neutron-induced backgrounds inherent to high-power proton beams. To validate the experimental strategy and detector technologies, the Little DAMSA Path-Finder (LDPF) proof-of-concept experiment is proposed, focusing on axion-like particles decaying to two photons and operating with 300 MeV electron beams at FAST. Successful realization of LDPF will establish the feasibility of the DAMSA approach, enabling a broad and powerful program to explore short-lived new physics and precision Standard Model processes in a previously inaccessible regime. This conceptual design document outlines the technical details of DAMSA's physics goals, the beam facility proposals, key experimental challenges and how to overcome them, and the proposed experimental staging campaigns.
title DAMSA Experiment Conceptual Design White Paper
topic High Energy Physics - Experiment
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15255