Double-hit signature of millicharged particles in 3D segmented neutrino detector

We calculate the production of hypothetical millicharged particles (MCPs) of sub-GeV masses by the J-PARC proton beam in the framework of T2K and future T2HK neutrino oscillation experiments. Concentrating on the region of model parameter space, where an MCP can hit the near neutrino detector twice, we adopt this background-free signature to estimate the sensitivity of T2K and T2HK experiments to MCPs. We find that a previously inaccessible in direct searches region of charges 5x10(-4)-10(-2) e for MCP masses 0.1-0.5 GeV can be probed. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

In this study, we calculated the production of hypothetical millicharged particles (MCPs) of sub-GeV masses by the J-PARC proton beam in the context of T2K and future T2HK neutrino oscillation experiments. By focusing on a specific region of model parameter space where an MCP can hit the near neutrino detector twice, we used this background-free signature to estimate the sensitivity of T2K and T2HK experiments to MCPs. Our findings show that a previously inaccessible region of charges 5x10(-4)-10(-2) e for MCP masses 0.1-0.5 GeV can be investigated.