arXiv subjects

Sanjit Masanam

Publications and source records attributed to Sanjit Masanam.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Feasibility of a collider-based detector search for upward-going fermions produced from gravitationally-bound dark matter within the Earth

Dark matter is theorized to be gravitationally captured within the Earth and to subsequently annihilate into dark photons. The dark photons kinetically mix with the Standard Model photons which would allow the decay of the dark photon to pairs of observable fermions near Earth's surface. We examine the feasibility and sensitivity of an LHC-class general-purpose detector to observe muons originating from these dark matter models. We calculate the expected signal rates at a hypothetical general-purpose detector and examine the effect of significant backgrounds on sensitivity. We also consider experimental efficiencies of such a detector to determine expected limits for the proposed analysis. We find these expected limits constitute a significant improvement over existing ones, strongly motivating a search for upward-going muons stemming from dark matter bound within the Earth.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Expected Sensitivity of the Light Dark Matter eXperiment to Long-Lived Dark Photons and Axion-Like Particles

The Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX) is an electron-beam fixed-target experiment primarily designed to achieve world-leading, model-independent sensitivity to sub-GeV dark matter particles. LDMX aims to identify dark sector particle production through the detection of events with substantial missing energy and momentum, a signature of invisible particles escaping detection. Beyond this primary objective, LDMX offers a complementary search strategy for long-lived, visibly decaying particles, such as dark photons and axion-like particles. We present the first detailed evaluation of the ability of LDMX to identify visibly decaying, long-lived particles that couple to electrons using a detailed simulation, based on the Geant4-toolkit, that incorporates realistic detection efficiencies and background levels. We demonstrate that LDMX can achieve a sensitivity that is competitive with other experiments that are currently running. The models explored in this paper are distinct and complementary to those probed in the LDMX flagship missing-momentum analysis. Through searching for both invisible dark matter and visibly decaying long-lived signatures, LDMX will significantly advance the search for light dark matter and provide a broad exploration of the sub-GeV dark sector.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Sensitivity of an Early Dark Matter Search using the Electromagnetic Calorimeter as a Target for the Light Dark Matter eXperiment

The Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX) is proposed to employ a thin tungsten target and a multi-GeV electron beam to carry out a missing momentum search for the production of dark matter candidate particles. We study the sensitivity for a complementary missing-energy-based search using the LDMX Electromagnetic Calorimeter as an active target with a focus on early running. In this context, we construct an event selection from a limited set of variables that projects sensitivity into previously-unexplored regions of light dark matter phase space -- down to an effective dark photon interaction strength $y$ of approximately $2\times10^{-13}$ ($5\times10^{-12}$) for a 1MeV (10MeV) dark matter candidate mass.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

LDMX -- The Light Dark Matter eXperiment

The Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX) is an electron fixed-target experiment optimized to search for sub-GeV dark matter production through the missing momentum signature. LDMX is designed to operate in End Station A at SLAC, using an 8 GeV electron beam accelerated alongside the LCLS-II drive beam. The design of the apparatus is strongly motivated by the performance requirements of a high-rate missing momentum search and leverages detector technologies and designs from other experiments along with existing facilities at SLAC. LDMX will improve on previous results by up to three orders of magnitude, enabling broad sensitivity to dark sector scenarios including the dark matter interaction strengths motivated by freeze-out of MeV-GeV mass dark matter to the observed relic abundance. With hermetic forward coverage, LDMX also has sensitivity to visible signatures of dark sectors and provides a unique probe of electron-nuclear interactions important to interpreting data from accelerator-based neutrino experiments. This report encompasses the technical design of the LDMX Detector, its simulated performance, and the physics capabilities of the experiment.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Dynamical Tests of a Deep-Learning Weather Prediction Model

Global deep-learning weather prediction models have recently been shown to produce forecasts that rival those from physics-based models run at operational centers. It is unclear whether these models have encoded atmospheric dynamics, or simply pattern matching that produces the smallest forecast error. Answering this question is crucial to establishing the utility of these models as tools for basic science. Here we subject one such model, Pangu-weather, to a set of four classical dynamical experiments that do not resemble the model training data. Localized perturbations to the model output and the initial conditions are added to steady time-averaged conditions, to assess the propagation speed and structural evolution of signals away from the local source. Perturbing the model physics by adding a steady tropical heat source results in a classical Matsuno--Gill response near the heating, and planetary waves that radiate into the extratropics. A localized disturbance on the winter-averaged North Pacific jet stream produces realistic extratropical cyclones and fronts, including the spontaneous emergence of polar lows. Perturbing the 500hPa height field alone yields adjustment from a state of rest to one of wind--pressure balance over ~6 hours. Localized subtropical low pressure systems produce Atlantic hurricanes, provided the initial amplitude exceeds about 5 hPa, and setting the initial humidity to zero eliminates hurricane development. We conclude that the model encodes realistic physics in all experiments, and suggest it can be used as a tool for rapidly testing ideas before using expensive physics-based models.

physics.ao-ph↗