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Felix Kling

Publications and source records attributed to Felix Kling.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Neutrino Fluxes at a Muon Collider

While muon colliders are primarily considered precision machines for new physics searches at the energy frontier, they are also intense sources of high-energy neutrinos. Large fluxes of electron and muon neutrinos are produced in the decay of beam muons, especially along the straight sections around the experiments. In this work, we re-evaluate these neutrino fluxes using the latest design of a \SI{10}{TeV} muon collider and find that fluxes around the interaction region are almost two orders of magnitude higher than earlier estimates. We also compute the fluxes of neutrinos produced in $\mu^+\mu^-$ collisions, electromagnetic showers induced by electrons from muon decay, and interactions of neutrinos close to the collider ring. We find that these additional neutrino sources are non-negligible and would lead to a sizable number of neutrino interactions of all flavors, including several tau neutrino events, in a ton-scale detector placed in the forward direction. We discuss the physics opportunities offered by muon collider neutrinos in the context of QCD and nuclear physics, electroweak precision measurements, and searches for new physics.

hep-ph

Precision Solar System Dynamics for Ultralight Dark Matter Search

Ultralight dark matter exhibits an order-one density fluctuation at the scale of its wavelength. This density fluctuation exists across the entire dark matter halo and interacts with stars and planets, perturbing their motion via gravitational interactions. We investigate the possibility of using precision solar system dynamics to search for ultralight dark matter. We examine this possibility with interplanetary radio range measurements. We show that the precision of current range measurements can probe ultralight dark matter at masses around $10^{-15}\,$eV, had its density in the solar system been $10^5$ larger than the so-called local dark matter density. This limit complements other constraints, such as the one from analyses of pulsar timing observations.

hep-ph

Electromagnetic Shower Reconstruction and Identification in FASER's Emulsion Detector for LHC Forward Neutrino Measurements

We present methods for electromagnetic shower reconstruction and identification in the FASERnu emulsion detector using 100 GeV and 200 GeV electron test-beam data from the CERN SPS H4 beamline. The reconstruction employs a clustering-based algorithm without energy-dependent tuning to determine shower axes. A multi-level identification chain comprising track pre-selection, a cut-based selection, and a BDT classifier achieves combined background rejection rates of 99.99% (100 GeV) and 99.94% (200 GeV). The method reaches total reconstruction and identification efficiencies of 58.9% (100 GeV) and 70.8% (200 GeV) evaluated from simulated samples. Energy reconstruction using the total number of reconstructed segments as the calorimetric estimator yields relative biases of +0.6% (100 GeV) and -0.8% (200 GeV), with resolutions of 25.4% and 22.6%, respectively. Systematic uncertainties on the energy reconstruction are dominated by variations in emulsion film detection efficiency, with totals of (+10.9%/-8.2%) at 100 GeV and (+10.3%/-6.9%) at 200 GeV. The methodology provides a validated framework for electron neutrino identification with the FASERnu detector at the LHC.

hep-ex

Momentum Measurement of Charged Particles in FASER's Emulsion Detector at the LHC

We present a momentum measurement method based on multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) in the FASER$\nu$ emulsion detector. The measurement of charged-particle momenta is essential for studying neutrino interactions in the TeV energy range at the FASER experiment. This method exploits the sub-micron spatial resolution and long tracking length of the FASER$\nu$ detector, enabling momentum determination from a few GeV up to a few TeV. The performance was evaluated using Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulations and validated with muon test beam data in the momentum range 100-300 GeV. As a first probe of the method for higher momentum muons, background muons recorded by the FASER$\nu$ detector were examined, showing reconstructed momenta consistent with expectations from their angular spread.

hep-ex

Letter of Intent: The Forward Physics Facility

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) is a proposed extension of the HL-LHC program designed to exploit the unique scientific opportunities offered by the intense flux of high energy neutrinos, and possibly new particles, in the far-forward direction. Located in a well-shielded cavern 627 m downstream of one of the LHC interaction points, the facility will support a broad and ambitious physics program that significantly expands the discovery potential of the HL-LHC. Equipped with four complementary detectors -- FLArE, FASER$\nu$2, FASER2, and FORMOSA -- the FPF will enable breakthrough measurements that will advance our understanding of neutrino physics, quantum chromodynamics, and astroparticle physics, and will search for dark matter and other new particles. With this Letter of Intent, we propose the construction of the FPF cavern and the construction, integration, and installation of its experiments. We summarize the physics case, the facility design, the layout and components of the detectors, as well as the envisioned collaboration structure, cost estimate, and implementation timeline.

hep-ex

Predictions of Neutrino Fluxes at the Forward Physics Facility at the High-Luminosity LHC

High-energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have traditionally focused on particle production at small pseudorapidities. However, to further utilize the valuable data from particles produced at the ATLAS interaction point along the beamline, the proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF) aims to study particle production in the far-forward region at the high-luminosity LHC. The FPF will house a suite of experiments with the ability of enhancing hadronic interaction models by measurement of the resulting neutrino fluxes. These advancements are critical for astroparticle physics, linking forward scattering processes to extensive air showers and improving our understanding of cosmic-ray interactions. This work investigates simulated neutrino fluxes in the far-forward region from proton-proton collisions at ATLAS, analyzing final state particles propagated to this new facility. Results from this simulation provide theoretical expectations for the neutrino fluxes at the FPF, offering insights to refine hadronic interaction models, including the most recently developed, and better estimate atmospheric neutrino backgrounds in astrophysical neutrino telescopes.

hep-ex

Dark Vector Boson Bremsstrahlung: New Form Factors for a Broader Class of Models

We explore the sensitivity of collider experiments to a broad class of GeV-scale dark vector models of new physics via production in proton and neutron bremsstrahlung and initial state radiation. This is achieved using a new physically motivated model for timelike vector form factors with generic charges for both protons and neutrons, which is fit to a variety of timelike and spacelike data with quantified uncertainties. The production model for both proton and neutron bremsstrahlung is applied to re-cast and extend the reach of existing FASER data to GeV-mass dark photons, $U(1)_B$, $U(1)_{B-L}$, and photophobic vectors, as well as forecasts for millicharged particles at FORMOSA.

hep-ph

Non-Standard Neutrino Interactions at a Muon Collider Neutrino Detector

In addition to their broad physics reach enabled by their high energies and precision, future multi-TeV muon colliders will also be the world's most intense sources of neutrinos. This offers the opportunity to search for new non-standard neutrino interactions, possible by installing a dedicated forward neutrino detector in the straight sections of the collision ring, which is then used to measure reactions initiated by neutrinos from the decaying beam muons. In this paper, we show that these searches can exceed current and upcoming bounds on non-standard neutrino interactions from low-energy precision experiments and the LHC. This is achieved by the large flux of high-energetic neutrinos, the precise knowledge of the neutrino flavor composition on each side of the interaction point and the chirality of the neutrinos. We further discuss the technical requirements of the proposed forward neutrino detector, \FASERmuC, to maximally exploit this physics potential.

hep-ph

Latest neutrino results from the FASER experiment and their implications for forward hadron production

The muon puzzle -- an excess of muons relative to simulation predictions in ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray air showers -- has been reported by many experiments. This suggests that forward particle production in hadronic interactions is not fully understood. Some of the scenarios proposed to resolve this predict reduced production of forward neutral pions and enhanced production of forward kaons (or other particles). The FASER experiment at the LHC is located 480 m downstream of the ATLAS interaction point and is sensitive to neutrinos and muons, which are the decay products of forward charged pions and kaons. In this study, the latest measurements of electron and muon neutrino fluxes are presented using the data corresponding to 9.5 $\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$ and 65.6 $\mathrm{fb^{-1}}$ of proton-proton collisions with $\sqrt{s}=13.6~\mathrm{TeV}$ by the FASER$\nu$ and the FASER electronic detector, respectively. These fluxes are compared with predictions from recent hadronic interaction models, including EPOS-LHCr, SIBYLL 2.3e, and QGSJET 3. The predictions are generally consistent with the measured fluxes from FASER, although some discrepancies appear in certain energy bins. More precise flux measurements with additional data will follow soon, enabling validation of pion, kaon, and charm meson production with finer energy binning, reduced uncertainties, and multi-differential analyses.

hep-ex

A First Determination of the LHC Neutrino Fluxes from FASER Data

The detection of TeV neutrinos from the LHC by the far-forward detectors FASER and SND@LHC enables a plethora of novel physics opportunities. Among these, the measurement of the flavour, energy, and rapidity dependence of the LHC forward neutrino fluxes provides unique constraints on theoretical predictions of forward particle production in hadronic collisions. We demonstrate that neutrino event yield measurements at FASER from Run 3 and at its HL-LHC upgrades enable a theory-agnostic extraction of the LHC forward neutrino fluxes. We exploit the equivalence of the problem with the determination of parton distributions from deep-inelastic structure functions to apply the NNPDF approach, based on machine learning regression and the Monte Carlo replica method, to LHC neutrino fluxes. The resulting NN$\nu$flux methodology is validated through closure tests and applied to a first extraction of the LHC muon neutrino flux from the FASER 2024 data. We show how NN$\nu$flux can discriminate between event generators of forward hadron production; scrutinize a possible intrinsic charm component in the proton; and constrain BSM scenarios with enhanced decays of neutral hadrons into neutrinos.

hep-ph

Anti-Electron Neutrinos at High-Energy Neutrino Experiments: Identification Strategies and Physics Potential

Most existing and proposed high energy neutrino experiments have excellent muon charge identification capabilities, enabling the distinction of $\nu_\mu$ and $\bar \nu_\mu$ charged current interactions. In contrast, distinguishing electrons and positrons from $\nu_e$ and $\bar \nu_e$ interactions is typically impossible, as they quickly interact within the characteristically dense detector material and fail to reach the spectrometer. In this letter, we propose a compact and cost-effective plastic target, placed right before the spectrometer, to maximize the rate of electrons and positrons that reach the spectrometer before interacting. We demonstrate that, when installed at the FASER experiment, the Forward Physics Facility, or SHiP, this setup could enable the first separate measurement of $\nu_e$ and $\bar\nu_e$ cross sections at high energy. Additionally, this setup opens new opportunities to study forward particle production at collider neutrino experiments, such as constraining forward $\Lambda$ hyperon production, and, by reducing flux uncertainties, significantly improve limits on non-standard neutrino interactions in neutral currents.

hep-ph

Deep-Inelastic Scattering at TeV Energies with LHC Muons

The LHC far-forward experiments FASER and SND@LHC have pioneered the detection of TeV-energy neutrinos produced in hard-scattering proton-proton collisions at the LHC. In addition to neutrinos, an intense flux of TeV-energy muons reaches these detectors, representing a dominant background for both neutrino studies and beyond the Standard Model searches. Here we demonstrate that this forward muon flux enables a comprehensive neutral-current deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) program at FASER with a strong kinematical overlap with the Electron Ion Collider. For the Run 3 luminosity of $\mathcal{L}_{\rm pp}=250$~fb$^{-1}$, more than $10^5$ inclusive muon DIS events, of which up to $10^4$ from charm production, are expected at FASER$\nu$. As a representative application, we demonstrate the sensitivity of muon DIS at FASER$\nu$ to probe the (intrinsic) charm content of the proton at large-$x$. We also provide predictions for event yields of muon DIS for future FASER runs and for the proposed Forward Physics Facility.

hep-ph

Reconstruction and Performance Evaluation of FASER's Emulsion Detector at the LHC

This paper presents the reconstruction and performance evaluation of the FASER$\nu$ emulsion detector, which aims to measure interactions from neutrinos produced in the forward direction of proton-proton collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The detector, composed of tungsten plates interleaved with emulsion films, records charged particles with sub-micron precision. A key challenge arises from the extremely high track density environment, reaching $\mathcal{O}(10^5)$ tracks per cm$^2$. To address this, dedicated alignment techniques and track reconstruction algorithms have been developed, building on techniques from previous experiments and introducing further optimizations. The performance of the detector is studied by evaluating the single-film efficiency, position and angular resolution, and the impact parameter distribution of reconstructed vertices. The results demonstrate that an alignment precision of 0.3 micrometers and robust track and vertex reconstruction are achieved, enabling accurate neutrino measurements in the TeV energy range.

physics.ins-det

Prospects and Opportunities with an upgraded FASER Neutrino Detector during the HL-LHC era: Input to the EPPSU

The FASER experiment at CERN has opened a new window in collider neutrino physics by detecting TeV-energy neutrinos produced in the forward direction at the LHC. Building on this success, this document outlines the scientific case and design considerations for an upgraded FASER neutrino detector to operate during LHC Run 4 and beyond. The proposed detector will significantly enhance the neutrino physics program by increasing event statistics, improving flavor identification, and enabling precision measurements of neutrino interactions at the highest man-made energies. Key objectives include measuring neutrino cross sections, probing proton structure and forward QCD dynamics, testing lepton flavor universality, and searching for beyond-the-Standard Model physics. Several detector configurations are under study, including high-granularity scintillator-based tracking calorimeters, high-precision silicon tracking layers, and advanced emulsion-based detectors for exclusive event reconstruction. These upgrades will maximize the physics potential of the HL-LHC, contribute to astroparticle physics and QCD studies, and serve as a stepping stone toward future neutrino programs at the Forward Physics Facility.

hep-ex

The Forward Physics Facility at the Large Hadron Collider

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) is a proposal developed to exploit the unique scientific potential made possible by the intense hadron beams produced in the far-forward direction at the high luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). Housed in a well-shielded cavern 627 m from the LHC interactions, the facility will enable a broad and deep scientific programme which will greatly extend the physics capability of the HL-LHC. Instrumented with a suite of four complementary detectors -- FLArE, FASER$\nu$2, FASER2 and FORMOSA -- the FPF has unique potential to shed light on neutrino physics, QCD, astroparticle physics, and to search for dark matter and other new particles. This contribution describes some of the key scientific drivers for the facility, the engineering and technical studies that have been made in preparation for it, the design of its four complementary experiments, and the status of the project's partnerships and planning.

hep-ex

Neutrino Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider

The proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce an intense, high-energy beam of neutrinos of all flavors, collimated in the forward direction. Recently two dedicated neutrino experiments, FASER and SND@LHC, have started operating to take advantage of the TeV energy LHC neutrino beam, with first results released in 2023 and further results released in 2024. The first detection of neutrinos produced at a particle collider opens up a new avenue of research, allowing to study the highest energy neutrinos produced in a controlled laboratory environment, with an associated broad and rich physics program. Neutrino measurements at the LHC will provide important contributions to QCD, neutrino and BSM physics, with impactful implications for astro-particle physics. This review article summarizes the physics motivation, status and plans of, present and future neutrino experiments at the LHC.

hep-ex

Neutrino Physics at the LHC: Status and Prospects

The LHC is not only the most powerful collider built to date but also the source of an intense beam of the most energetic neutrinos ever produced by humankind. After nearly 15 years of LHC operation, these neutrinos have been observed for the first time by the FASER and SND@LHC experiments. This breakthrough marks the dawn of a new field: collider neutrino physics. Further neutrino measurements at the LHC will offer novel opportunities to advance neutrino physics, constrain the strong interaction in uncharted kinematic regimes, provide critical input for addressing outstanding questions in astroparticle physics, and search for phenomena predicted by scenarios of physics beyond the Standard Model. This proceeding reviews the existing and proposed neutrino detectors, presents their first results, and summarizes their physics potential.

hep-ph

Detecting LHC Neutrinos at Surface Level

The first direct detection of neutrinos at the LHC not only marks the beginning of a novel collider neutrino program at CERN but also motivates considering additional neutrino detectors to fully exploit the associated physics potential. We investigate the feasibility and physics potential of neutrino experiments located at the surface-level. A topographic desk study was performed to identify all points at which the LHC's neutrino beams exit the earth. The closest location lies about 9 km east of the CMS interaction point, at the bottom of Lake Geneva. Several detectors to be placed at this location are considered, including a water Cherenkov detector and an emulsion detector. The detector concepts are introduced, and projections for their contribution to the LHC forward neutrino program and searches for dark sector particles are presented. However, the dilution of the neutrino flux over distance reduces the neutrino yield significantly, limiting the physics potential of surface-level detectors compared to ones closer to the interaction point, including the proposed FPF.

hep-ex