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Alessandra Filippi

Publications and source records attributed to Alessandra Filippi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Novel concept for low-energy antineutron production and its application for antineutron scattering experiments

Extensive data of antiproton scattering cross sections with protons and nuclei have advanced our understanding of hadronic interactions with antinucleons. However, low-energy antineutron scattering data are scarce, thereby limiting our understanding of the S-wave antinucleon-nucleon and antinucleon-nucleus interactions. We present a novel production scheme of extremely low-energy antineutrons that could remedy this situation. This method is based on backward charge-exchange reaction ($p\bar{p}\to n\bar{n}$), and can reach the lowest momentum of 9 MeV/c, which would be well suited to study of the S-wave antinucleon-nucleon or antinucleon-nucleus interactions.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2022

The Heavy Photon Search Experiment

The Heavy Photon Search (HPS) experiment is designed to search for a new vector boson $A^\prime$ in the mass range of 20 MeV/$c^2$ to 220 MeV/$c^2$ that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model photon with couplings $ε^2 >10^{-10}$. In addition to the general importance of exploring light, weakly coupled physics that is difficult to probe with high-energy colliders, a prime motivation for this search is the possibility that sub-GeV thermal relics constitute dark matter, a scenario that requires a new comparably light mediator, where models with a hidden $U(1)$ gauge symmetry, a "dark", "hidden sector", or "heavy" photon, are particularly attractive. HPS searches for visible signatures of these heavy photons, taking advantage of their small coupling to electric charge to produce them via a process analogous to bremsstrahlung in a fixed target and detect their subsequent decay to $\mathrm{e}^+ \mathrm{e}^-$ pairs in a compact spectrometer. In addition to searching for $\mathrm{e}^+ \mathrm{e}^-$ resonances atop large QED backgrounds, HPS has the ability to precisely measure decay lengths, resulting in unique sensitivity to dark photons, as well as other long-lived new physics. After completion of the experiment and operation of engineering runs in 2015 and 2016 at the JLab CEBAF, physics runs in 2019 and 2021 have provided datasets that are now being analyzed to search for dark photons and other new phenomena.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2021

Strange Hadron Spectroscopy with Secondary KL Beam in Hall D

We propose to create a secondary beam of neutral kaons in Hall D at Jefferson Lab to be used with the GlueX experimental setup for strange hadron spectroscopy. The superior CEBAF electron beam will enable a flux on the order of $1\times 10^4~K_L/sec$, which exceeds the flux of that previously attained at SLAC by three orders of magnitude. The use of a deuteron target will provide first measurements ever with neutral kaons on neutrons. The experiment will measure both differential cross sections and self-analyzed polarizations of the produced $Λ$, $Σ$, $Ξ$, and $Ω$ hyperons using the GlueX detector at the Jefferson Lab Hall D. The measurements will span CM $\cosθ$ from $-0.95$ to 0.95 in the range W = 1490 MeV to 2500 MeV. The new data will significantly constrain the partial wave analyses and reduce model-dependent uncertainties in the extraction of the properties and pole positions of the strange hyperon resonances, and establish the orbitally excited multiplets in the spectra of the $Ξ$ and $Ω$ hyperons. Comparison with the corresponding multiplets in the spectra of the charm and bottom hyperons will provide insight into he accuracy of QCD-based calculations over a large range of masses. The proposed facility will have a defining impact in the strange meson sector through measurements of the final state $Kπ$ system up to 2 GeV invariant mass. This will allow the determination of pole positions and widths of all relevant $K^\ast(Kπ)$ $S$-,$P$-,$D$-,$F$-, and $G$-wave resonances, settle the question of the existence or nonexistence of scalar meson $κ/K_0^\ast(700)$ and improve the constrains on their pole parameters. Subsequently improving our knowledge of the low-lying scalar nonet in general.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2020

Searching in the dark: the hunt for the dark photon

The existence of Dark Matter (DM) is a well established fact since many decades, thanks to the observation of the effects of its gravitational interaction with the ordinary matter in the Universe. However, our knowledge of the Dark Matter features is still rather scarce. Indeed, one of the biggest quests in fundamental science today is the investigation of Dark Matter nature, from its origin to its composition, and the way its constituents interact with the ordinary matter, apart from gravity. Huge and ambitious efforts have been spent in the last years into its identification, concentrating especially on the search of viable Weakly Interacting Massive Particle candidates. However, no positive results have been achieved so far along this direction. On the other hand, many fascinating new ideas and models for its interpretation have been blooming: among them, an intriguing hypothesis is that the Dark Matter constituents could be neutral under Standard Model interactions, but they could interact through a new, still unknown, force under a "hidden" charge. This new hidden symmetry would be mediated by a massive gauge boson, the dark photon, which is expected to couple to the Standard Model via a kinetic mixing. The search for such a massive mediator has been pursued with large enthusiasm and dedication in the latest years, as its observation could be within the reach of many already existing experimental facilities, both based on accelerators

hep-ph↗
arXiv2016

The HPS electromagnetic calorimeter

The Heavy Photon Search experiment (HPS) is searching for a new gauge boson, the so-called "heavy photon." Through its kinetic mixing with the Standard Model photon, this particle could decay into an electron-positron pair. It would then be detectable as a narrow peak in the invariant mass spectrum of such pairs, or, depending on its lifetime, by a decay downstream of the production target. The HPS experiment is installed in Hall-B of Jefferson Lab. This article presents the design and performance of one of the two detectors of the experiment, the electromagnetic calorimeter, during the runs performed in 2015-2016. The calorimeter's main purpose is to provide a fast trigger and reduce the copious background from electromagnetic processes through matching with a tracking detector. The detector is a homogeneous calorimeter, made of 442 lead-tungstate (PbWO4) scintillating crystals, each read out by an avalanche photodiode coupled to a custom trans-impedance amplifier.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2016

Dark Sectors 2016 Workshop: Community Report

This report, based on the Dark Sectors workshop at SLAC in April 2016, summarizes the scientific importance of searches for dark sector dark matter and forces at masses beneath the weak-scale, the status of this broad international field, the important milestones motivating future exploration, and promising experimental opportunities to reach these milestones over the next 5-10 years.

hep-ph↗