Dark photon searches in the photon channel

Abstract

Spectral shape differences between photons produced in $π^0\toγ+γ$ and $π^0\toγ+A_D$ may provide a new avenue for dark photon searches. Assuming 70 $μ$m thick tungsten foils separated by 200 $μ$m and a 1 GeV proton beam, we developed a GEANT4 model to estimate photon production and detection including background. Our results demonstrate that multiple campaign runs with a 10-50 $μ$A beam could probe previously unexplored regions of parameter space in models where the dark photon has predominantly invisible decays. The results are highly model independent.