Drell-Yan Production of New Particles at Fixed-Target Experiments: Heavy Neutral Lepton as a Case Study
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866912851455639552 |
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| author | Burk, Francis M. Dev, P. S. Bhupal Dutta, Bhaskar Han, Tao Karthikeyan, Aparajitha Kim, Doojin |
| author_facet | Burk, Francis M. Dev, P. S. Bhupal Dutta, Bhaskar Han, Tao Karthikeyan, Aparajitha Kim, Doojin |
| contents | We demonstrate the sensitivity of Drell-Yan production processes from deep inelastic scattering in searches for beyond-the-Standard Model (BSM) physics at fixed-target or beam-bump experiments. We take heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) as a case study, produced from the decay of a light vector boson mediator with mass in the range of $2-20$ GeV, which itself is generated via the Drell-Yan process. The produced HNLs subsequently decay into Standard Model final states. We consider several current and future experiments, including SBND, DarkQuest, DUNE Near Detector (ND), and SHiP. Utilizing $νπ^0$ and $νe^+e^-$ final states from HNL decays, we find that the Drell-Yan mechanism provides important contributions and significantly enhances the HNL search sensitivity, owing to the production of energetic final-state particles that are more readily detectable over the expected backgrounds. We find that at $90\%$ C.L. sensitivity, for gauge couplings $g_{X} \sim 10^{-2}\ (10^{-3})$ and kinematically accessible mass range, SBND and DarkQuest can probe the HNL flavor mixing $|U_{\ell}| \sim 3\times 10^{-4}\ (10^{-3})$, whereas DUNE ND and SHiP may extend the sensitivity down to the Type-I Seesaw prediction of $|U_{\ell}| \sim 10^{-5}$. Finally, for our chosen benchmark $|U_{\ell}| = 10^{-3}$ outside of the current experimental constraints, with a fixed mass ratio $m_{Z'}/m_N = 2.1$, and working within the $U(1)_{B-L}$, $U(1)_{B-3L_τ}$, and $U(1)_{B}$ parameter spaces, we find that both SBND and DarkQuest can probe $g_{X} \sim 10^{-3}$, DUNE ND can reach $g_{X} \sim 10^{-4}$, and SHiP can probe down to $g_{X}\sim 5\times 10^{-6}$. Our approach provides a powerful new technique to study HNL production at future fixed-target experiments and can readily be extended to other light BSM particle production within a broader class of dark sector models. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_18874 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Drell-Yan Production of New Particles at Fixed-Target Experiments: Heavy Neutral Lepton as a Case Study Burk, Francis M. Dev, P. S. Bhupal Dutta, Bhaskar Han, Tao Karthikeyan, Aparajitha Kim, Doojin High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Experiment We demonstrate the sensitivity of Drell-Yan production processes from deep inelastic scattering in searches for beyond-the-Standard Model (BSM) physics at fixed-target or beam-bump experiments. We take heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) as a case study, produced from the decay of a light vector boson mediator with mass in the range of $2-20$ GeV, which itself is generated via the Drell-Yan process. The produced HNLs subsequently decay into Standard Model final states. We consider several current and future experiments, including SBND, DarkQuest, DUNE Near Detector (ND), and SHiP. Utilizing $νπ^0$ and $νe^+e^-$ final states from HNL decays, we find that the Drell-Yan mechanism provides important contributions and significantly enhances the HNL search sensitivity, owing to the production of energetic final-state particles that are more readily detectable over the expected backgrounds. We find that at $90\%$ C.L. sensitivity, for gauge couplings $g_{X} \sim 10^{-2}\ (10^{-3})$ and kinematically accessible mass range, SBND and DarkQuest can probe the HNL flavor mixing $|U_{\ell}| \sim 3\times 10^{-4}\ (10^{-3})$, whereas DUNE ND and SHiP may extend the sensitivity down to the Type-I Seesaw prediction of $|U_{\ell}| \sim 10^{-5}$. Finally, for our chosen benchmark $|U_{\ell}| = 10^{-3}$ outside of the current experimental constraints, with a fixed mass ratio $m_{Z'}/m_N = 2.1$, and working within the $U(1)_{B-L}$, $U(1)_{B-3L_τ}$, and $U(1)_{B}$ parameter spaces, we find that both SBND and DarkQuest can probe $g_{X} \sim 10^{-3}$, DUNE ND can reach $g_{X} \sim 10^{-4}$, and SHiP can probe down to $g_{X}\sim 5\times 10^{-6}$. Our approach provides a powerful new technique to study HNL production at future fixed-target experiments and can readily be extended to other light BSM particle production within a broader class of dark sector models. |
| title | Drell-Yan Production of New Particles at Fixed-Target Experiments: Heavy Neutral Lepton as a Case Study |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.18874 |