arXiv subjects

Leyun Gao

Publications and source records attributed to Leyun Gao.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Projected Sensitivity to Slow Muonphilic Dark Matter with Accelerator Muon Beams

The nature of dark matter (DM) remains one of the most enduring open questions in modern physics, and muonphilic DM has emerged as a promising scenario that complements traditional DM candidates. Following the recently established cosmic-ray muon scattering approach, we investigate the sensitivity for probing slow muonphilic DM with accelerator muon beams. A Geant4-based simulation framework is developed, incorporating the detector geometry from the PKMu muon tomography system and a dedicated elastic $μ$-DM scattering process. The projected sensitivity is found to be largely insensitive to both the beam energy and the transverse beam size when the beam is fully contained within the detector acceptance. For a benchmark beam intensity of $10^5/\rm{s}$, the simulated pure-muon beam surpasses the existing cosmic-ray limit of $1.61\times10^{-17}$ cm$^2$ at $m_{\rm DM}=1$ GeV within approximately 11 seconds. A realistic muon beam phase-space distribution based on simulations for the High Intensity heavy-ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) is also implemented, yielding projected limits that improve upon the cosmic-ray results by nearly two orders of magnitude in a one-day exposure. These results demonstrate that a beam-muon scattering experiment offers a robust and promising route toward significantly improved sensitivity to slow muonphilic DM.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

The muon Moonshot: Moon subsurface tomography with upward-going muons

We propose a novel muon Moonshot concept for lunar subsurface tomography based on upward-going muons originated from the lunar regolith. Unlike the Earth, the Moon lacks an atmosphere, leaving a dense regolith below and a near-vacuum environment above. Consequently, while most downward-going hadrons are absorbed before decaying, upward-going hadrons escaping the regolith can decay in flight, producing a significant source of lunar muons. These muons are detectable by instruments on the lunar surface or in near-lunar orbit. We perform Monte Carlo simulations to investigate their energy spectra, angular distributions, and integrated fluxes under various theoretical and detector configurations. The results indicate that the lunar muon flux is sensitive to detector altitude under a flat-terrain assumption, demonstrating its potential as a novel non-invasive probe of shallow subsurface voids. We also present case studies on the detection of underground cavities and water resources, with cavity-induced flux variations observable in less than two minutes and weaker water signals distinguishable after about 36 minutes of data collection with a $1~\mathrm{m^2}$ detector, and discuss potential implementations in future lunar missions.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2026

Production of lepton-flavor-violating scalars through resonant positive-muon annihilation on atomic electrons

We investigate an invisible lepton-flavor-violating scalar $ϕ$ with exclusive $e-μ$ couplings and study its resonant production via $μ^+e^-\toϕ$ in fixed-target experiments. Since the effective center-of-mass energy is determined by the momentum of the initial-state bound electrons, atomic effects can significantly affect the resonance behavior. We therefore employ relativistic bound-state electron wave functions to calculate the production cross section and reveal a material-dependent broadening of the resonance lineshape. For the proposed HIAF experiment, fewer than one day of data taking ($6\times10^{10}$ MOT) can probe couplings at the $10^{-5}$ level at 90\% confidence level near resonance, demonstrating that high-intensity muon fixed-target experiments provide a powerful complementary probe of lepton-flavor violation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Quantum entanglement of photon pairs at proton-proton colliders

Diphoton systems, with photon polarizations measurable at low energies, serve as ideal qubits and were first used to demonstrate quantum entanglement. However, due to the current absence of dedicated polarimeters at high-energy colliders, the entanglement properties of diphoton systems remain largely unexplored at the high-energy frontier. Studying quantum entanglement at the high-energy frontier, where particle colliders serve as a natural relativistic laboratory, helps us better understand the quantum nature and seek new physics. In this letter, we propose a novel method to measure the entanglement of diphoton systems at proton-proton colliders. The photon spin analyzing power arises from the Bethe-Heitler process occurring in the tracker, where photons scatter off nuclei to produce electron-positron pairs whose joint angular distribution encodes the polarization of the diphoton system. Simulation results show that, under HL-LHC conditions, the statistical significance of quantum entanglement in the Higgs $\to γγ$ process is $0.007σ$, while measuring the continuum diphoton process $q\bar{q} \to γγ$ alone can reach about $1.5σ$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

"Hadron-in-fat-jet'' AI Tagging to Detect Rare Decays Such as $W^{\pm}\toπ^{\pm}γ$

We investigate a novel class of boosted-object signatures at the LHC, where a high-$p_{\text{T}}$ fat-jet contains an identifiable hadron or quarkonium state originating from rare or semi-exclusive decays. Unlike conventional boosted jet studies, which focus on multi-prong partonic substructure, our approach probes hybrid configurations such as $W^{\pm}\toπ^{\pm}γ$, where a localized hadronic or quarkonium signal is embedded within a collimated jet. By fine-tuning the signature-oriented, pre-trained Sophon AI model optimized for large-radius jets, and combining it with an event-level BDT and a soft-drop-mass shape fit, we obtain an expected 95\% CL upper limit of ${\cal B}(W^{\pm}\toπ^{\pm}γ)<2.78\times10^{-5}$ for $450\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ in our nominal setup. This study serves as a first proof-of-principle demonstration of the ``hadron-in-fat-jet'' paradigm; substantial gains in sensitivity are expected from improved trigger strategies, additional production channels, and dedicated taggers, while the methodology itself is broadly applicable to a wide range of rare Standard Model processes and searches for light or exotic resonances at present and future collider experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Probing Cosmic Ray Composition and Muon-philic Dark Matter via Muon Tomography

This work presents a novel cosmic-ray scattering experiment employing a Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) muon tomography system. By introducing the scattering angle between incident and outgoing cosmic-ray tracks as a key observable, this approach enables simultaneous studies of secondary cosmic-ray composition and searching for new physics. During a 63-day campaign, 1.18 million cosmic ray scattering events were recorded and analyzed. By performing combined template fits to the observed angular distribution, particle abundances are measured -- for example, resolving the electron component at $\sim 2\%$ precision. Furthermore, constraints are established on elastic muon dark matter (DM) scattering cross-sections for muon-philic dark matter. At the $95\%$ confidence level, the limit reaches 1.61 $\times$ $10^{-17}$ $\rm{cm}^{2}$ for 1 GeV slow DM, demonstrating sensitivity limit to light muon-coupled slow DM, in scenarios where a strongly interacting dark matter component is captured and thermalized within the Earth, leading to large surface densities.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Search for light Dark Sectors with GeV Muon Beams

Sub-GeV light dark matter often requires new light mediators, such as a dark $Z$ boson in the $L_μ- L_τ$ gauge theory. We study the search potential for such a $Z^\prime$ boson via the process $μe^- \to μe^- X$, with $X$ decaying invisibly, in a muon on-target experiment using a high-intensity 1-10 GeV muon beam from facilities such as HIAF-HIRIBL. Events are identified by the scattered muon and electron from the target using silicon strip detectors in a single-station telescope system. Backgrounds are suppressed through a trained boosted decision tree (BDT) classifier, and activity in downstream subdetectors remains low. This approach can probe a $Z^\prime$ boson in the 10 MeV mass range with improved sensitivity. Nearly three orders of magnitude improvement is achievable with a full multi-telescope station system employing a 160 GeV muon beam at CERN, such as in the MUonE experiment.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

High-Precision Physics Experiments at Huizhou Large-Scale Scientific Facilities

In response to the capabilities presented by the High-Intensity Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) and the Accelerator-Driven Subcritical System (CiADS), as well as the proposed Chinese Advanced Nuclear Physics Research Facility (CNUF), we are assembling a consortium of experts in relevant discipline--both domestically and internationally--to delineate high-precision physics experiments that leverage the state-of-the-art research environment afforded by CNUF. Our focus encompasses six primary domains of inquiry: hadron physics--including endeavors such as the super eta factory and investigations into light hadron structures; muon physics; neutrino physics; neutron physics; the testing of fundamental symmetries; and the exploration of quantum effects within nuclear physics, along with the utilization of vortex accelerators. We aim to foster a well-rounded portfolio of large, medium, and small-scale projects, thus unlocking new scientific avenues and optimizing the potential of the Huizhou large scientific facility. The aspiration for international leadership in scientific research will be a guiding principle in our strategic planning. This initiative will serve as a foundational reference for the Institute of Modern Physics in its strategic planning and goal-setting, ensuring alignment with its developmental objectives while striving to secure a competitive edge in technological advancement. Our ambition is to engage in substantive research within these realms of high-precision physics, to pursue groundbreaking discoveries, and to stimulate progress in China's nuclear physics landscape, positioning Huizhou as a preeminent global hub for advanced nuclear physics research.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Novel $|V_{cb}|$ extraction method via boosted $bc$-tagging with in-situ calibration

We present a novel method for measuring $|V_{cb}|$ at the LHC using an advanced boosted-jet tagger to identify "$bc$ signatures". By associating boosted $W \rightarrow bc$ signals with $bc$-matched jets from top-quark decays, we enable an in-situ calibration of the tagger. This approach significantly suppresses backgrounds while reducing uncertainties in flavor tagging efficiencies -- key to improving measurement precision. Our study is enabled by the development of realistic, AI-based large- and small-radius taggers, Sophon and the newly introduced SophonAK4, validated to match ATLAS and CMS's state-of-the-art taggers. The method complements the conventional small radius jet approach and enables a ~30% improvement in $|V_{cb}|$ precision under HL-LHC projections. As a byproduct, it enhances $H^{\pm} \rightarrow bc$ search sensitivity by a factor of 2--5 over the recent ATLAS result based on Run 2 data. Our work offers a new perspective for the precision $|V_{cb}|$ measurement and highlights the potential of using advanced tagging models to probe unexplored boosted regimes at the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Probing and Knocking with Muons

We propose here a set of new methods involving probing and knocking with muons (PKMu). There is a wealth of rich physics to explore with GeV muon beams. Examples include but not limited to: muon scattering can occur at large angles, providing evidence of potential muon-philic dark matter or dark mediator candidates; muon-electron scattering can be used to detect new types of bosons associated with charged lepton flavor violation; precise measurements of GeV-scale muon-electron scattering can be employed to probe quantum correlations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Testing spooky action between free-traveling electron-positron pairs

Quantum entanglement is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics. While the entanglement of confined electron pairs has been established early on, the entanglement of free-traveling electron pairs, particularly at high energies, remains largely unexplored due to the substantial challenges involved in measuring the spins of free-traveling electrons. In this study, we investigate the entanglement and the Bell inequality violation of free-traveling electron-positron pairs generated in a fixed-target experiment. This experimental setup facilitates the creation of a controllable source of entangled electron-positron pairs, where entangled events are produced in specific phase spaces. Based on this source and the prior knowledge of the entangled state, we demonstrate the feasibility of measuring the polarization correlations of the entangled $e^+e^-$ pairs through their individual secondary scatterings off two separate additional targets.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantum state tomography with muons

Entanglement is a fundamental pillar of quantum mechanics. Probing quantum entanglement and testing Bell inequality with muons can be a significant leap forward, as muon is arguably the only massive elementary particle that can be manipulated and detected over a wide range of energies, e.g., from approximately 0.3 to $10^2$ GeV, corresponding to velocities from 0.94 to nearly the speed of light. In this work, we present a realistic proposal and a comprehensive study of quantum entanglement in a state composed of different-flavor fermions in muon-electron scattering. The polarization density matrix for the muon-electron system is derived using a kinematic approach within the relativistic quantum field theory framework. Entanglement in the resulting muon-electron qubit system and the violation of Bell inequalities can be observed with a high event rate. This paves the way for performing quantum tomography with muons.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Probing charged lepton flavor violation in an economical muon on-target experiment

This work proposes a new yet economical experiment to probe the charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV) process mediated by an extra massive neutron gauge boson $Z^\prime$ beyond the standard model, by extending a recently proposed muon dark matter project in the Peking University Muon (PKMuon) Experiment. The devices used originally for light mass dark matter direct detection are easily adaptable to search for the $μ^+e^- \to μ^+μ^-$ CLFV process leveraging the large-area, high-precision muon tracking and tomography system sandwiching a fixed target the incoming muons scatter off. The $μ^+μ^-$ final state signal studied in this work can be uniquely sensitive to specific CLFV parameter combinations, such as the couplings between $Z^\prime$, electron and muon, or $Z^\prime$ and two muons. Prospected results are obtained through detailed detector simulation for the proposal interfacing with a muon beam with energy at tens of $\mathrm{GeV}$ and a flux of $10^6\ \mathrm{s^{-1}}$. Based mainly on angular information of the incoming and outgoing particles, the expected upper limit at 95\% confidence level on the coupling coefficients $λ_{eμ}λ_{μμ}$ is able to reach $10^{-5}$ with, for example, $Z^\prime$ mass $0.25\ \mathrm{GeV}$, for a one year's run.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Accelerating Resonance Searches via Signature-Oriented Pre-training

The search for heavy resonances beyond the Standard Model (BSM) is a key objective at the LHC. While the recent use of advanced deep neural networks for boosted-jet tagging significantly enhances the sensitivity of dedicated searches, it is limited to specific final states, leaving vast potential BSM phase space underexplored. We introduce a novel experimental method, Signature-Oriented Pre-training for Heavy-resonance ObservatioN (Sophon), which leverages deep learning to cover an extensive number of boosted final states. Pre-trained on the comprehensive JetClass-II dataset, the Sophon model learns intricate jet signatures, ensuring the optimal constructions of various jet tagging discriminates and enabling high-performance transfer learning capabilities. We show that the method can not only push widespread model-specific searches to their sensitivity frontier, but also greatly improve model-agnostic approaches, accelerating LHC resonance searches in a broad sense.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

A proposed PKU-Muon experiment for muon tomography and dark matter search

We propose here a set of new methods to directly detect light mass dark matter through its scattering with abundant atmospheric muons or accelerator beams. Firstly, we plan to use the free cosmic-ray muons interacting with dark matter in a volume surrounded by tracking detectors, to trace possible interaction between dark matter and muons. Secondly, we will interface our device with domestic or international muon beams. Due to much larger muon intensity and focused beam, we anticipate the detector can be made further compact and the resulting sensitivity on dark matter searches will be improved. Furthermore, we will measure precisely directional distributions of cosmic-ray muons, either at mountain or sea level, and the differences may reveal possible information of dark matter distributed near the earth. Specifically, our methods can have advantages over `exotic' dark matters which are either muon-philic or slowed down due to some mechanism, and sensitivity on dark matter and muon scattering cross section can reach as low as microbarn level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

The physics case for neutrino-neutrino collisions

Addressing the mass origin and properties of neutrinos is of strong interest to particle physics, baryogenesis and cosmology. Popular explanations involve physics beyond the standard model, for example, the dimension-5 Weinberg operator or heavy Majorana neutrinos arising from ``seesaw'' models. The current best direct limits on the electron neutrino mass, derived from nuclei beta decay or neutrinoless double beta decay processes, are at the sub-electronvolt level. Here we propose a novel neutrino neutrino collider where the neutrino beam is generated from TeV scale muon decays. Such collisions can happen between either neutrinos and anti-neutrinos, or neutrinos and neutrinos. We find that with a tiny integrated luminosity of about $10^{-5}$/fb we can already expect to observe direct neutrino anti-neutrino annihilation, $ν\barν\rightarrow {\rm Z}$, which also opens the door to explore neutrino related resonances $ν\barν\rightarrow {\rm X}$. The low luminosity requirement can accommodate a relatively large emittance muon beam. Such a device would also allow for probing heavy Majorana neutrino and effective Majorana neutrino mass through $νν\rightarrow {\rm H H}$ to a competitive level, for both electron and muon types.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Muon Beam for Neutrino CP Violation: connecting energy and neutrino frontiers

We propose here a proposal to connect neutrino and energy frontiers, by exploiting collimated muon beams for neutrino oscillations, which generate symmetric neutrino and antineutrino sources: $μ^+\rightarrow e^+\,\barν_μ\, ν_{e}$ and $μ^-\rightarrow e^-\, ν_μ \,\barν_{e}$. Interfacing with long baseline neutrino detectors such as DUNE and T2K, this experiment can be applicable to measure tau neutrino properties, and also to probe neutrino CP phase, by measuring muon electron (anti-)neutrino mixing or tau (anti-)neutrino appearance, and differences between neutrino and antineutrino rates. There are several significant benefits leading to large neutrino flux and high sensitivity on CP phase, including 1) collimated and manipulable muon beams, which lead to a larger acceptance of neutrino sources in the far detector side; 2) symmetric $μ^+$ and $μ^-$ beams, and thus symmetric neutrino and antineutrino sources, which make this proposal ideally useful for measuring neutrino CP violation. More importantly, $\barν_{e,μ}\rightarrow\barν_τ$ and $ν_{e,μ}\rightarrow ν_τ$, and, $\barν_{e}\rightarrow\barν_μ$ and $ν_{e}\rightarrow ν_μ$ oscillation signals can be collected simultaneously, with no needs for separate specific runs for neutrinos or antineutrinos. Based on a simulation of neutrino oscillation experiment, we estimate $10^4$ tau (anti-) neutrinos can be collected within 5 years which makes this proposal suitable for a brighter tau neutrino factory. Moreover, more than 7 standard deviations of sensitivity can be reached for $\dcp = |π/2|$, within only five ears of data taking, by combining tau and muon (anti-) neutrino appearances. With the development of a more intensive muon beam targeting future muon collider, the neutrino potential of the current proposal will surely be further improved.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Search for vector-like leptons at a Muon Collider

A feasibility study is performed for searching vector-like leptons at a muon collider, in the context of the "4321 model", an ultraviolet-complete model with rich collider phenomenology together with potential to explain recent existing some B physics measurements or anomalies. In this paper, we perform a Monte Carlo study with various machine learning techniques, and examine the projected sensitivity on vector-like leptons over a wide mass range at a TeV-scale muon collider. We find that a 3 TeV muon collider with only 10/fb of data can already be sensitive to cover the mass range of a vector-like lepton up to 1450 GeV.

hep-ph↗