2000 character limit reached
Search for reactor-produced millicharged particles with Skipper-CCDs at the CONNIE and Atucha-II experiments
Published 25 May 2024 in hep-ex and physics.ins-det | (2405.16316v2)
Abstract: 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.
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- See Supplemental Material at URL-will-be-inserted-by-publisher for the statistical formalism applied for obtaining the limits.
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