The extension of Standard Model made by inclusion of additional $U(1)$ gauge $L_\mu-L_\tau$ symmetry can explain the difference between the measured and the predicted value of the muon magnetic moment and solve the tension in $B$ meson decays. This model predicts the existence of a new, light $Z^\prime$ vector boson, predominantly coupled to second and third generation leptons, whose interaction with electrons is due to a loop mechanism involving muons and taus. In this work, we present a rigorous evaluation of the upper limits in the $Z^\prime$ parameter space, obtained from the analysis of the data collected by the NA64-$e$ experiment at CERN SPS, that performed a search for light dark matter with $2.84\times10^{11}$ electrons impinging with 100 GeV on an active thick target. The resulting limits, despite being included in a region already investigated by neutrino experiments,touch the muon $g-2$ preferred band for values of the $Z^\prime$ mass of order of 1 MeV. The sensitivity projections for the future high-statistics NA64-$e$ runs demonstrate the power of the electrons/positron beam approach in this theoretical scenario.

The Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) is under construction at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), with commissioning of the facility expected in late 2022. The Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD) has been designed to operate at NICA and its components are currently in production. The detector is expected to be ready for data taking with the first beams from NICA. This document provides an overview of the landscape of the investigation of the QCD phase diagram in the region of maximum baryonic density, where NICA and MPD will be able to provide significant and unique input. It also provides a detailed description of the MPD set-up, including its various subsystems as well as its support and computing infrastructures. Selected performance studies for particular physics measurements at MPD are presented and discussed in the context of existing data and theoretical expectations.

We report the results of a search for a new vector boson ( A ' ) decaying into two dark matter particles χ 1 χ 2 of different mass. The heavier χ 2 particle subsequently decays to χ 1 and an off-shell Dark Photon A ' ∗ → e + e - . For a sufficiently large mass splitting, this model can explain in terms of new physics the recently confirmed discrepancy observed in the muon anomalous magnetic moment at Fermilab. Remarkably, it also predicts the observed yield of thermal dark matter relic abundance. A detailed Monte-Carlo simulation was used to determine the signal yield and detection efficiency for this channel in the NA64 setup. The results were obtained re-analyzing the previous NA64 searches for an invisible decay A ' → χ χ ¯ and axion-like or pseudo-scalar particles a → γ γ . With this method, we exclude a significant portion of the parameter space justifying the muon g-2 anomaly and being compatible with the observed dark matter relic density for A ' masses from 2 m e up to 390 MeV and mixing parameter ε between 3 × 10 - 5 and 2 × 10 - 2 .

The aim of this work is to describe the characteristics and properties of the particle-tracking detectors created at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research by the glued straw tube technology for the NA64 experiment on the extracted electron beam of the CERN SPS. The physical task of the experiment is to search for phenomena of the dark sector and dark matter.

The production cross-sections for W +/- and Z bosons are measured using ATLAS data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.0 pb-1 collected at a centre-ofmass energy v s = 2.76 TeV. The deca ...

The experiment NA64 is aimed at a direct search for sub-GeV vector mediator A′ of Dark Matter production in invisible A′ decay mode. Another goal is to search for of a new light X boson, which could explain a recently observed excess of e+e− events from excited Be transitions. The NA64 Collaboration requests to carry out further both searches with the H4 electron beam in the year 2021 and beyond.

We report the first results on a direct search for a new 16.7 MeV boson (X) which could explain the anomalous excess of e^{+}e^{-} pairs observed in the excited ^{8}Be^{*} nucleus decays. Because of its coupling to electrons, the X could be produced in the bremsstrahlung reaction e^{-}Z→e^{-}ZX by a 100 GeV e^{-} beam incident on an active target in the NA64 experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron and observed through the subsequent decay into a e^{+}e^{-} pair. With 5.4×10^{10} electrons on target, no evidence for such decays was found, allowing us to set first limits on the X-e^{-} coupling in the range 1.3×10^{-4}≲ε_{e}≲4.2×10^{-4} excluding part of the allowed parameter space. We also set new bounds on the mixing strength of photons with dark photons (A^{'}) from nonobservation of the decay A^{'}→e^{+}e^{-} of the bremsstrahlung A^{'} with a mass ≲23  MeV.

We present the performance of multiplexed XY resistive Micromegas detectors tested in the CERN SPS 100 GeV/c electron beam at intensities up to 3.3×105e−∕(s⋅cm2). So far, all studies with multiplexed Micromegas have only been reported for tests with radioactive sources and cosmic rays. The use of multiplexed modules in high intensity environments was not explored due to the effect of ambiguities in the reconstruction of the hit point caused by the multiplexing feature. For the specific mapping and beam intensities analyzed in this work with a multiplexing factor of five, more than 50% level of ambiguity is introduced due to particle pile-up as well as fake clusters due to the mapping feature. Our results prove that by using the additional information of cluster size and integrated charge from the signal clusters induced on the XY strips, the ambiguities can be reduced to a level below 2%. The tested detectors are used in the CERN NA64 experiment for tracking the incoming particles bending in a magnetic field in order to reconstruct their momentum. The average hit detection efficiency of each module was found to be ∼96% at the highest beam intensities. By using four modules a tracking resolution of 1.1% was obtained with ∼85% combined tracking efficiency.

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.

In high energy experiments such as active beam dump searches for rare decays and missing energy events, the beam purity is a crucial parameter. In this paper we present a technique to reject heavy charged particle contamination in the 100 GeV electron beam of the H4 beam line at CERN SPS. The method is based on the detection with BGO scintillators of the synchrotron radiation emitted by the electrons passing through a bending dipole magnet. A 100 GeV pi(-) beam is used to test the method in the NA64 experiment resulting in a suppression factor of 10(-5) while the efficiency for electron detection is similar to 95%. The spectra and the rejection factors are in very good agreement with the Monte Carlo simulation. The reported suppression factors are significantly better than previously achieved. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report on a direct search for sub-GeV dark photons (A^{'}), which might be produced in the reaction e^{-}Z→e^{-}ZA^{'} via kinetic mixing with photons by 100 GeV electrons incident on an active target in the NA64 experiment at the CERN SPS. The dark photons would decay invisibly into dark matter particles resulting in events with large missing energy. No evidence for such decays was found with 2.75×10^{9} electrons on target. We set new limits on the γ-A^{'} mixing strength and exclude the invisible A^{'} with a mass ≲100  MeV as an explanation of the muon g_{μ}-2 anomaly.

The scientific goal of the CBM (Compressed Baryonic Matter) experiment at FAIR (Darmstadt) is to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter at highest baryon densities. The physics program of the CBM experiment is complimentary to the programs to be realized at MPD and BMN facilities at NICA and will start with beam derived by the SIS100 synchrotron. The results of JINR participation in the development of different sub-projects of the CBM experiment are presented.

The ATLAS (one of two general purpose detectors at the LHC) Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) is the outermost of the three tracking subsystems of the ATLAS Inner Detector. It is a large straw-based detector and contains about 350,000 electronics channels. The performance of the TRT as tracking and particularly particle identification detector strongly depends on stability of the operation parameters with most important parameter being the gas gain which must be kept constant across the detector volume. The gas gain in the straws can vary significantly with atmospheric pressure, temperature, and gas mixture composition changes. This paper presents a concept of the gas gain stabilisation in the TRT and describes in detail the Gas Gain Stabilisation System (GGSS) integrated into the Detector Control System (DCS). Operation stability of the GGSS during Run-1 is demonstrated.

Design features and basic parameters of the detectors based on straw trackers are reviewed using the example of the studies and development of trackers in a number of operating and proposed accelerator experimental facilities. The results of methodological studies aimed at qualitatively improving the spatial/time resolution and high rate capability of the detector and enhancing the performance capabilities of such detectors used for particle detection in a high multiplicity environment (and in high-luminosity experiments) are presented.

A class of models of a “dark sector” of particles consider new very weak interaction between the ordinary and dark matter transmitted by U'(1) gauge bosons A' (dark photons) mixing with ordinary photons. If such A's exist, they could be searched for in a light-shining-through-a-wall experiment in a high energy electron beam from the CERN SPS. A proposed search project suggests detection of the e+e- pairs produced in the A ' -> e+e - decays with a very small opening angle. Coordinate detectors based on the thin-wall drift tubes with a minimal material budget and a two-hit resolution for e+ and e- tracks separated by more than 0.5 mm are considered as an option for detecting such events.

An optical method for estimating deviation from the linearity of straws with a diameter of 4 mm and a length of 60 cm mounted in the ring frames of a detector is described. The maximum permissible deviation from linearity of straws is 400 μm, and the amplitudes of signals from a 55Fe source vary along the straws by no more than 9%. The results of this optical-linearity checkup agree fairly well with the data obtained using a more accurate method (the measurement of amplitude characteristics with a 55Fe source) for determining the deviation of a straw from the anode axis.

The article presents results of studying the operating mode of thin-walled drift tubes (straws) at flushing it with a high-pressure gas mixture, which allowed obtaining extremely high spatial resolution for straw detectors. The results of studying the radiation ageing of straws operating in this mode are also described.

This article presents the results of a study of the longitudinal spatial resolution by means of the direct timing method (DTM) using 2 m long and 9.53 mm diameter straw tubes. The feasibility of achieving the spatial resolution (r.m.s.) better than 2 cm over full length of the straw is demonstrated. The spatial resolution changes little when measured by detecting gammas from a Fe-55 gamma ray source or minimum ionizing electrons from a Ru-106 source. The use of the same type of front end electronics (FEE) both for measuring the drift time of ionization electrons and propagation time of a signal along the anode wire allows one to construct a detector capable for measuring the two dimensional coordinates of charged particles.

Techniques for measuring the longitudinal coordinates in drift tubes are considered. It is shown that the use of the direct timing method to determine the longitudinal coordinates helps to obtain the longitudinal resolution several times better relative to the charge division method and is suitable for long tubes. The implementation of this method provides a means for designing coordinate detectors based on drift tubes with the two-dimensional readout and a high response speed, which will not be very complex.

The stages of development and the current status of the versatile “Spectrometer with a Vertex Detector” setup designed for physics experiments at the U-70 accelerator of the Institute for High Energy Physics (Protvino) is described. The main detectors of the setup are the vertex detector based on silicon microstrip detectors, the wide-aperture magnetic spectrometer based on multiwire proportional chambers, and the lead-glass hodoscope γ detector. In the setup, there is a fast two-level trigger system for selecting required particle interactions. The key characteristics of the setup systems are presented, and the physical results obtained on it are briefly listed.