arXiv subjects

P. Foldenauer

Publications and source records attributed to P. Foldenauer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Neutrino NSI in archaeological Pb

Dark matter direct detection experiments can observe solar neutrinos via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering, making it possible to test new physics in the neutrino sector. In this article, we study the sensitivity of RES-NOVA, a novel cryogenic calorimetric experiment employing PbWO$_4$ crystals grown from archaeological lead, to neutrino non-standard interactions (NSI). We perform a sensitivity study for a benchmark setup with a nominal energy threshold of 1 keV and an exposure of 1 ton$\cdot$y, both for a conservative (only heat readout) and ideal (heat and scintillation) background rejection scenario. We find that, in its nominal configuration, while not being sensitive to Standard Model solar $\nu$ interactions, RES-NOVA can reach sensitivities to NSI at the level of current global fits. With moderate or significant improvements of the threshold down to $0.5$ keV and $0.2$ keV, RES-NOVA will be able to achieve sensitivities beyond NSI global fit results, testing new areas of the parameter space in the electron and tau sectors, $\varepsilon_{ee}$, $\varepsilon_{\tau\tau}$, and $\varepsilon_{e\tau}$. A similar improvement in sensitivities is expected when instead increasing the exposure to 10 ton$\cdot$y.

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arXiv2025

GeV-scale thermal dark matter from dark photons: tightly constrained, yet allowed

GeV-scale thermal dark matter (DM) is highly constrained by the null results of both direct and indirect detection experiments, especially in the context of simplified models. In this work, we study the interplay of collider, direct and indirect detection constraints on an extension of the dark Abelian Higgs model that includes a Dirac fermionic DM candidate, $\chi$. We take into account in a consistent fashion the dilution of the indirect and direct detection signals when the relic abundance of $\chi$ is smaller than the total observed DM density (assuming that it is a subdominant component in those cases). As a consequence, we show that indirect detection constraints cannot probe regions with large kinetic mixing, and direct detection experiments provide the leading constraints in most of the parameter space. Collider searches for the (invisibly decaying) vector mediator provide complementary bounds in areas with large kinetic mixing. We find that the only way to avoid both indirect and direct detection limits is in narrow windows of parameter space close to $m_\chi\lesssim m_{Z_D}/2$, when $\chi$ is produced resonantly in the early universe, and it can constitute all of the DM. For this to happen, a small dark sector coupling is required: $\alpha_D~\lesssim10^{-3}$ for DM masses below $6$ GeV, or $\alpha_D~\lesssim10^{-5}$ for DM masses larger than $10$ GeV. The remaining areas of the parameter space can be probed in a complementary way by future direct detection experiments (which will narrow down the allowed area around the resonant region) and collider searches (which will set limits for smaller values of the kinetic mixing).

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Feebly Interacting Particles: FIPs 2022 workshop report

Particle physics today faces the challenge of explaining the mystery of dark matter, the origin of matter over anti-matter in the Universe, the origin of the neutrino masses, the apparent fine-tuning of the electro-weak scale, and many other aspects of fundamental physics. Perhaps the most striking frontier to emerge in the search for answers involves new physics at mass scales comparable to familiar matter, below the GeV-scale, or even radically below, down to sub-eV scales, and with very feeble interaction strength. New theoretical ideas to address dark matter and other fundamental questions predict such feebly interacting particles (FIPs) at these scales, and indeed, existing data provide numerous hints for such possibility. A vibrant experimental program to discover such physics is under way, guided by a systematic theoretical approach firmly grounded on the underlying principles of the Standard Model. This document represents the report of the FIPs 2022 workshop, held at CERN between the 17 and 21 October 2022 and aims to give an overview of these efforts, their motivations, and the decadal goals that animate the community involved in the search for FIPs.

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arXiv2021

Confirming $U(1)_{L_\mu-L_{\tau}}$ as a solution for $(g-2)_\mu$ with neutrinos

The recent measurement of the muon anomalous magnetic moment by the Fermilab E989 experiment, when combined with the previous result at BNL, has confirmed the tension with the SM prediction at $4.2\,\sigma$ CL, strengthening the motivation for new physics in the leptonic sector. Among the different particle physics models that could account for such an excess, a gauged $U(1)_{L_\mu-L_{\tau}}$ stands out for its simplicity. In this article, we explore how the combination of data from different future probes can help identify the nature of the new physics behind the muon anomalous magnetic moment. In particular, we contrast $U(1)_{L_\mu-L_{\tau}}$ with an effective $U(1)_{L_\mu}$-type model. We first show that muon fixed target experiments (such as NA64$\mu$) will be able to measure the coupling of the hidden photon to the muon sector in the region compatible with $(g-2)_\mu$, and will have some sensitivity to the hidden photon's mass. We then study how experiments looking for coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) at spallation sources will provide crucial additional information on the kinetic mixing of the hidden photon. When combined with NA64$\mu$ results, the exclusion limits (or reconstructed regions) of future CE$\nu$NS detectors will also allow for a better measurement of the mediator mass. Finally, the observation of nuclear recoils from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments will provide unique information about the coupling of the hidden photon to the tau sector. The signal expected for $U(1)_{L_\mu-L_{\tau}}$ is larger than for $U(1)_{L_\mu}$ with the same kinetic mixing, and future multi-ton liquid xenon proposals (such as DARWIN) have the potential to confirm the former over the latter.

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