arXiv subjects

Ryan Schmitz

Publications and source records attributed to Ryan Schmitz.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Readout electronics for SUBMET

A dedicated data acquisition (DAQ) system has been developed for the SUB-Millicharge ExperimenT (SUBMET) at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), a search for particles carrying a fractional electric charge $Q = \epsilon e$ with $\epsilon$ below $\mathcal{O}(10^{-3})$, hereafter referred to as millicharged particles (mCPs). Because such particles are expected to produce at most a few scintillation photons, the system is optimized for single-photoelectron detection from the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), combining high-speed waveform digitization with precise timing. To capture eight consecutive proton bunches of the 30 GeV J-PARC beam within a single trigger, the eight channels of the Domino Ring Sampler 4 (DRS4) chip are cascaded in groups of four to form two readout inputs, each sampling 4096 points continuously at 820.5 MHz over an effective time window of 5 us. After calibration, timing differences between channels are within 1 ns on the same DRS4 chip, 2 ns on the same board, and 8 ns across different boards, well within the 30 ns coincidence window of the experiment. The front-end electronics achieve an RMS noise below 0.4 mV. The baseline is deliberately offset upward such that the negative-going pulses span a larger fraction of the digitizer range, improving voltage resolution and dynamic range. A trigger control board aggregates data from multiple readout boards and sustains the data-transfer rate required for beam operation. The measured performance confirms that the DAQ system meets the timing, noise, and throughput requirements of the experiment.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Proposing GRENDEL: GalleRy ExperimeNt for Decays of Exotic LLPs at the LHC

Long-lived particles are a generic prediction of Standard Model extensions that address the hierarchy problem, the origin of neutrino masses, the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, and the nature of dark matter. Despite the breadth of theoretical motivation, neutral long-lived particles in the GeV-scale mass range remain difficult to probe at the LHC main detectors, where trigger limitations and challenging backgrounds curtail sensitivity over a wide range of lifetimes. We propose GRENDEL (GalleRy ExperimeNt for Decays of Exotic LLPs), a dedicated detector to be installed in the PX56 drainage gallery at CMS Point 5. GRENDEL will exploit the substantial rock and concrete between the detector and LHC interaction point as passive shielding in addition to employing active background rejection. Located approximately 22 m above the interaction point and running largely transverse to the beam, GRENDEL will span around 110 m and cover the central region $|\eta| < 0.6$. GRENDEL will make use of extruded scintillator bars to achieve competitive sensitivity with other proposed detectors while requiring minimal infrastructure, and without the need for civil engineering. We present the physics case, detector concept, and projected sensitivities to heavy neutral leptons, dark scalars, and axion-like particles covering the $0.2-15$ GeV mass range with 3 $\mathrm{ab}^{-1}$ of HL-LHC data. The benchmarks span the neutrino, scalar, and axion portals, with production through exotic Higgs decays, $B$- and $D$-meson decays, and $W/Z$ decays.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

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↗

arXiv2025

Afterpulse prediction for SUBMET experiment

The SUB-Millicharge ExperimenT (SUBMET) investigates an unexplored parameter space of millicharged particles with mass $m_\chi < $ 1.6 GeV/c$^2$ and charge $Q_\chi < 10^{-3}e$. The detector consists of an Eljen-200 plastic scintillator coupled to a Hamamatsu Photonics R7725 photomultiplier tube (PMT). PMT afterpulses, delayed pulses produced after an energetic pulse, have been observed in the SUBMET readout system, especially following primary pulses with a large area. We present a prediction method for afterpulse rates based on measurable parameters, which reproduces the observed rate with approximately 20\% precision. This approach enables a better understanding of afterpulse contributions and, consequently, improves the reliability of background predictions.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Design and Mechanical Integration of Scintillation Modules for SUB-Millicharge ExperimenT (SUBMET)

We present a detailed description of the detector design for the SUB-Millicharge ExperimenT (SUBMET), developed to search for millicharged particles. The experiment probes a largely unexplored region of the charge-mass parameter space, focusing on particles with mass $m_\chi < 1.6~\textrm{GeV}/c^2$ and electric charge $Q < 10^{-3}e$. The detector has been optimized to achieve high sensitivity to interactions of such particles while maintaining effective discrimination against background events. We provide a comprehensive overview of the key detector components, including scintillation modules, photomultiplier tubes, and the mechanical support structure.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Input to the ESPPU 2026 update: Searching for millicharged particles with the FORMOSA experiment at the CERN LHC

In this contribution, we evaluate the sensitivity for particles with charges much smaller than the electron charge with a dedicated scintillator-based detector in the far forward region at the CERN LHC, FORMOSA. This contribution will outline the scientific case for this detector, its design and potential locations, and the sensitivity that can be achieved. The ongoing efforts to prove the feasibility of the detector with the FORMOSA demonstrator will be discussed. Finally, possible upgrades to the detector through the use of high-performance scintillator will be discussed.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

LANSCE-mQ: Dedicated search for milli/fractionally charged particles at LANL

In this paper, we propose an experiment, LANSCE-mQ, aiming to detect fractionally charged and millicharged particles (mCP) using an 800 MeV proton beam fixed target at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) facility. This search can shed new light on numerous fundamental questions, including charge quantization, the predictions of string theories and grand unification theories, the gauge symmetry of the Standard Model, dark sector models, and the tests of cosmic reheating. We propose to install two-layer scintillation detectors made of plastic (such as EJ-200) or CeBr3 to search for mCPs. Dedicated Geant4 detector simulations and in situ measurements have been conducted to obtain a preliminary determination of the background rate. The dominant backgrounds are beam-induced neutrons and coincident dark current signals from the photomultiplier tubes, while beam-induced gammas and cosmic muons are subdominant. We determined that LANSCE-mQ, the dedicated mCP experiment, has the leading mCP sensitivity for mass between ~ 1 MeV to 300 MeV.

hep-ph↗