arXiv subjects

M. de Montigny

Publications and source records attributed to M. de Montigny.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

MoEDAL search in the CMS beam pipe for magnetic monopoles produced via the Schwinger effect

We report on a search for magnetic monopoles (MMs) produced in ultraperipheral Pb--Pb collisions during Run-1 of the LHC. The beam pipe surrounding the interaction region of the CMS experiment was exposed to 184.07 \textmu b$^{-1}$ of Pb--Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV center-of-mass energy per collision in December 2011, before being removed in 2013. It was scanned by the MoEDAL experiment using a SQUID magnetometer to search for trapped MMs. No MM signal was observed. The two distinctive features of this search are the use of a trapping volume very close to the collision point and ultra-high magnetic fields generated during the heavy-ion run that could produce MMs via the Schwinger effect. These two advantages allowed setting the first reliable, world-leading mass limits on MMs with high magnetic charge. In particular, the established limits are the strongest available in the range between 2 and 45 Dirac units, excluding MMs with masses of up to 80 GeV at 95\% confidence level.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2022

Search for Highly-Ionizing Particles in pp Collisions at the LHC's Run-1 Using the Prototype MoEDAL Detector

A search for highly electrically charged objects (HECOs) and magnetic monopoles is presented using 2.2 fb-1 of p - p collision data taken at a centre of mass energy (ECM) of 8 TeV by the MoEDAL detector during LHC's Run-1. The data were collected using MoEDAL's prototype Nuclear Track Detector array and the Trapping Detector array. The results are interpreted in terms of Drell-Yan pair production of stable HECO and monopole pairs with three spin hypotheses (0, 1/2 and 1). The search provides constraints on the direct production of magnetic monopoles carrying one to four Dirac magnetic charges (4gD) and with mass limits ranging from 590 GeV/c^2 to 1 TeV/c^2. Additionally, mass limits are placed on HECOs with charge in the range 10e to 180e, where e is the charge of an electron, for masses between 30 GeV/c^2 and 1 TeV/c^2.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Non-commutativity and non-inertial effects on a scalar field in a cosmic string space-time. Part 1: Klein-Gordon oscillator

We analyse the Klein-Gordon oscillator in a cosmic string space-time and study the effects stemming from the rotating frame and non-commutativity in momentum space. We show that the latter mimics a constant magnetic field, imparting physical interpretation to the setup. The field equation for the scalar field is solved via separations of variables, and we obtain quantization of energy and angular momentum. The space-time metric is non-degenerate as long as the particle is confined within a hard-wall, whose position depends on the rotation frame velocity and the string mass parameter. We investigate the energy quantization both for a finite hard-wall (numerical evaluation) and in the limit of an infinite hard-wall (analytical treatment). We stress the effect of non-commutativity upon the energy quantization in each case.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Non-commutativity and non-inertial effects on a scalar field in a cosmic string space-time. Part 2: Spin-zero Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau-like oscillator

We study the non-inertial effects of a rotating frame on a spin-zero, Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP)-like oscillator in a cosmic string space-time with non-commutative geometry in the momentum space. The spin-zero DKP-like oscillator is obtained from the Klein-Gordon Lagrangian with a non-standard prescription for the oscillator coupling. We find that the solutions of the time-independent radial equation with the non-zero non-commutativity parameter parallel to the string are related to the confluent hypergeometric function. We find the quantized energy eigenvalues of the non-commutative oscillator.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

First experimental search for production of magnetic monopoles via the Schwinger mechanism

Schwinger showed that electrically-charged particles can be produced in a strong electric field by quantum tunnelling through the Coulomb barrier. By electromagnetic duality, if magnetic monopoles (MMs) exist, they would be produced by the same mechanism in a sufficiently strong magnetic field. Unique advantages of the Schwinger mechanism are that its rate can be calculated using semiclassical techniques without relying on perturbation theory, and the finite MM size and strong MM-photon coupling are expected to enhance their production. Pb-Pb heavy-ion collisions at the LHC produce the strongest known magnetic fields in the current Universe, and this article presents the first search for MM production by the Schwinger mechanism. It was conducted by the MoEDAL experiment during the 5.02 TeV/nucleon heavy-ion run at the LHC in November 2018, during which the MoEDAL trapping detectors (MMTs) were exposed to 0.235 nb$^{-1}$ of Pb-Pb collisions. The MMTs were scanned for the presence of magnetic charge using a SQUID magnetometer. MMs with Dirac charges 1$g_D$ $\leq$ $g$ $\leq$ 3$g_D$ and masses up to 75 GeV/c$^2$ were excluded by the analysis. This provides the first lower mass limit for finite-size MMs from a collider search and significantly extends previous mass bounds.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2021

First search for dyons with the full MoEDAL trapping detector in 13 TeV pp collisions

The MoEDAL trapping detector, consists of approximately 800 kg of aluminium volumes. It was exposed during Run-2 of the LHC program to 6.46 fb^-1 of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point. Evidence for dyons (particles with electric and magnetic charge) captured in the trapping detector was sought by passing the aluminium volumes comprising the detector through a SQUID magnetometer. The presence of a trapped dyon would be signalled by a persistent current induced in the SQUID magnetometer. On the basis of a Drell-Yan production model, we exclude dyons with a magnetic charge ranging up to 5 Dirac charges, and an electric charge up to 200 times the fundamental electric charge for mass limits in the range 790 - 3130 GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2020

An effective field theory approach to monopolium

In this work we investigate the interaction between spin-zero and spin-one monopoles by making use of an effective field theory based on two-body and four-body interaction parts. In particular, we analyze the formation of bound state of monopole-antimonopole (i.e. monopolium). The magnetic-charge conjugation symmetry is studied in analogy to the usual charge conjugation to define a particle basis, for which we find bound-state solutions with relatively small binding energies and which allows us to identify the bounds on the parameters in the effective Lagrangians. Estimations of their masses, binding energies and scattering lengths are performed as functions of monopole masses and interaction strength in a specific renormalization scheme. We also examine the general validity of the approach and the feasibility of detecting the monopolium.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Non-commutativity and non-inertial effects on the Dirac oscillator in a cosmic string space-time

We examine the non-inertial effects of a rotating frame on a Dirac oscillator in a cosmic string space-time with non-commutative geometry in phase space. We observe that the approximate bound-state solutions are related to the biconfluent Heun polynomials. The related energies cannot be obtained in a closed form for all the bound states. We find the energy of the fundamental state analytically by taking into account the hard-wall confining condition. We describe how the ground-state energy scales with the new non-commutative term as well as with the other physical parameters of the system.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Magnetic monopole search with the full MoEDAL trapping detector in 13 TeV $pp$ collisions interpreted in photon-fusion and Drell-Yan production

MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of stable or pseudostable highly ionizing particles produced in high-energy Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions. Here we update our previous search for magnetic monopoles in Run 2 using the full trapping detector with almost four times more material and almost twice more integrated luminosity. For the first time at the LHC, the data were interpreted in terms of photon-fusion monopole direct production in addition to the Drell-Yan-like mechanism. The MoEDAL trapping detector, consisting of 794 kg of aluminum samples installed in the forward and lateral regions, was exposed to 4.0 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point and analyzed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to or above the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples. Monopole spins 0, 1/2 and 1 are considered and both velocity-independent and -dependent couplings are assumed. This search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Lorentz-violating extension of the spin-one Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equation

We investigate the breaking of Lorentz symmetry caused by the inclusion of an external four-vector via a Chern-Simons-like term in the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau Lagrangian for massless and massive spin-one fields. The resulting equations of motion lead to the appearance of birefringence, where the corresponding photons are split into two propagation modes. We discuss the gauge invariance of the extended Lagrangian. Throughout the paper, we utilize projection operators to reduce the wave-functions to their physical components, and we provide many new properties of these projection operators.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL forward trapping detector in 2.11 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

We update our previous search for trapped magnetic monopoles in LHC Run 2 using nearly six times more integrated luminosity and including additional models for the interpretation of the data. The MoEDAL forward trapping detector, comprising 222~kg of aluminium samples, was exposed to 2.11~fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions near the LHCb interaction point and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to the Dirac charge or above are excluded in all samples. The results are interpreted in Drell-Yan production models for monopoles with spins 0, 1/2 and 1: in addition to standard point-like couplings, we also consider couplings with momentum-dependent form factors. The search provides the best current laboratory constraints for monopoles with magnetic charges ranging from two to five times the Dirac charge.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2017

Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL forward trapping detector in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of long-lived highly-ionising particles produced in high-energy LHC collisions. Its arrays of plastic nuclear-track detectors and aluminium trapping volumes provide two independent passive detection techniques. We present here the results of a first search for magnetic monopole production in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using the trapping technique, extending a previous publication with 8 TeV data during LHC run-1. A total of 222 kg of MoEDAL trapping detector samples was exposed in the forward region and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges exceeding half the Dirac charge are excluded in all samples and limits are placed for the first time on the production of magnetic monopoles in 13 TeV $pp$ collisions. The search probes mass ranges previously inaccessible to collider experiments for up to five times the Dirac charge.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

The Coulomb potential in quantum mechanics revisited

The procedure commonly used in textbooks for determining the eigenvalues and eigenstates for a particle in an attractive Coulomb potential is not symmetric in the way the boundary conditions at $r=0$ and $r \rightarrow \infty$ are considered. We highlight this fact by solving a model for the Coulomb potential with a cutoff (representing the finite extent of the nucleus); in the limit that the cutoff is reduced to zero we recover the standard result, albeit in a non-standard way. This example is used to emphasize that a more consistent approach to solving the Coulomb problem in quantum mechanics requires an examination of the non-standard solution. The end result is, of course, the same.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2016

Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equation in curved space-time with scalar linear interactions

In this paper, we study the covariant Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) equation in the space-time generated by a cosmic string and we examine the linear interaction of a DKP field with gravitational fields produced by topological defects and thus study the influence of topology on this system. We highlight two classes of solutions defined by the product of the deficit angle with the angular velocity of the rotating frame. We solve the covariant form of DKP equation in an exact analytical manner for node-less and one-node states by means of an appropriate ansatz.

math-ph↗

arXiv2016

Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL prototype trapping detector in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

The MoEDAL experiment is designed to search for magnetic monopoles and other highly-ionising particles produced in high-energy collisions at the LHC. The largely passive MoEDAL detector, deployed at Interaction Point 8 on the LHC ring, relies on two dedicated direct detection techniques. The first technique is based on stacks of nuclear-track detectors with surface area $\sim$18 m$^2$, sensitive to particle ionisation exceeding a high threshold. These detectors are analysed offline by optical scanning microscopes. The second technique is based on the trapping of charged particles in an array of roughly 800 kg of aluminium samples. These samples are monitored offline for the presence of trapped magnetic charge at a remote superconducting magnetometer facility. We present here the results of a search for magnetic monopoles using a 160 kg prototype MoEDAL trapping detector exposed to 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC, for an integrated luminosity of 0.75 fb$^{-1}$. No magnetic charge exceeding $0.5g_{\rm D}$ (where $g_{\rm D}$ is the Dirac magnetic charge) is measured in any of the exposed samples, allowing limits to be placed on monopole production in the mass range 100 GeV$\leq m \leq$ 3500 GeV. Model-independent cross-section limits are presented in fiducial regions of monopole energy and direction for $1g_{\rm D}\leq|g|\leq 6g_{\rm D}$, and model-dependent cross-section limits are obtained for Drell-Yan pair production of spin-1/2 and spin-0 monopoles for $1g_{\rm D}\leq|g|\leq 4g_{\rm D}$. Under the assumption of Drell-Yan cross sections, mass limits are derived for $|g|=2g_{\rm D}$ and $|g|=3g_{\rm D}$ for the first time at the LHC, surpassing the results from previous collider experiments.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

On a group-theoretical approach to the curl operator

We utilize group-theoretical methods to develop a matrix representation of differential operators that act on tensors of any rank. In particular, we concentrate on the matrix formulation of the curl operator. A self-adjoint matrix of the curl operator is constructed and its action is extended to a complex plane. This scheme allows us to obtain properties, similar to those of the traditional curl operator.

math-ph↗

arXiv2015

Path-integral quantization of Galilean Fermi fields

The Galilei-covariant fermionic field theories are quantized by using the path-integral method and five-dimensional Lorentz-like covariant expressions of non-relativistic field equations. Firstly, we review the five-dimensional approach to the Galilean Dirac equation, which leads to the Levy-Leblond equations, and define the Galilean generating functional and Green's functions for positive- and negative-energy/mass solutions. Then, as an example of interactions, we consider the quartic self-interacting potential $λ (\barΨ Ψ)^2$, and we derive expressions for the 2- and 4-point Green's functions. Our results are compatible with those found in the literature on non-relativistic many-body systems. The extended manifold allows for compact expressions of the contributions in $(3+1)$ space-time. This is particularly apparent when we represent the results with diagrams in the extended $(4+1)$ manifold, since they usually encompass more diagrams in Galilean $(3+1)$ space-time.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Schwarzschild-type solution in an effective gravitational theory with local Galilean invariance

We construct a Schwarzschild-type exact external solution for a theory of gravity admitting local Galilean invariance. In order to realize the Galilean invariance we need to adopt a five-dimensional manifold. The solution for the gravitational field equations obeys a Birkhoff-like theorem. Three classic tests of general relativity are analyzed in detail: the perihelion shift of the planet Mercury, the deflection of light by the Sun, and the gravitational redshift of atomic spectral lines. The Galilean version of these tests exhibits an additional parameter $b$ related to the fifth-coordinate. This constant $b$ can be estimated by a comparison with observational data. We observe that the Galilean theory is able to reproduce the results traditionally predicted by general relativity in the limit of negligible $b$. This shows that the tests are not specifically Lorentz invariant.

gr-qc↗