Hidden Sector

After the energy- frontier searches, especially  at the LHC, have pushed the limits of new particle masses into the multi-TeV region, several theories now predict that new particles have not been discovered not because of their large mass, but because their production rate is very rare. This has lead to the exploration of the so-called intensity frontier, where relatively low-energy but high-intensity beams are used to search for particles with very small  production probabilities.

SHiP is the only experiment approved at CERN so far for the post-LHC era. It is supposed to start data taking around 2030, for a period of over 10 years. The experiment consists of a thick target (beam-dump) where 450 GeV protons from CERN's SPS will be absorbed, producing neutrinos and hypothetical long-lived particles. After the target, a magnet sweeps away background muons produced in the collision, and a neutrino detector measures with very high precision the properties of these particles. This first system is followed by  a long decay tunnel, where potential long-lived particles can decay into Standard Model ones, and measured by an upstream detector.

The UCL group has been involved with the SHiP experiment for over 10 years, and is collaborating with other UK institutes to the development and definition of the muon shield. 

For more information, contact Prof Mario Campanelli