First Constraints on Heavy QCD Axions with a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber using the ArgoNeuT Experiment
High Energy Physics - Experiment
2025-04-03 v3 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Abstract
We present the results of a search for heavy QCD axions performed by the ArgoNeuT experiment at Fermilab. We search for heavy axions produced in the NuMI neutrino beam target and absorber decaying into dimuon pairs, which can be identified using the unique capabilities of ArgoNeuT and the MINOS near detector. This decay channel is motivated by a broad class of heavy QCD axion models that address the strong CP and axion quality problems with axion masses above the dimuon threshold. We obtain new constraints at a 95\% confidence level for heavy axions in the previously unexplored mass range between 0.2-0.9 GeV, for axion decay constants around tens of TeV.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2207.08448,
title = {First Constraints on Heavy QCD Axions with a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber using the ArgoNeuT Experiment},
author = {ArgoNeuT Collaboration and R. Acciarri and C. Adams and B. Baller and V. Basque and F. Cavanna and R. T. Co and R. S. Fitzpatrick and B. Fleming and P. Green and R. Harnik and K. J. Kelly and S. Kumar and K. Lang and I. Lepetic and Z. Liu and X. Luo and K. F. Lyu and O. Palamara and G. Scanavini and M. Soderberg and J. Spitz and A. M. Szelc and W. Wu and T. Yang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2207.08448},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
6 pages, 4 figures. Version accepted by PRL