Search for reactor-produced millicharged particles with Skipper-CCDs at the CONNIE and Atucha-II experiments

Alexis A. Aguilar-Arevalo; Nicolas Avalos; Pablo Bellino; Xavier Bertou; Carla Bonifazi; Ana Botti; Mariano Cababié; Gustavo Cancelo; Brenda A. Cervantes-Vergara; Claudio Chavez; Fernando Chierchie; David Delgado; Eliana Depaoli; Juan Carlos D'Olivo; João dos Anjos; Juan Estrada; Guillermo Fernandez Moroni; Aldo R. Fernandes Neto; Richard Ford; Ben Kilminster; Kevin Kuk; Andrew Lathrop; Patrick Lemos; Herman P. Lima Jr.; Martin Makler; Agustina Magnoni; Katherine Maslova; Franciole Marinho; Jorge Molina; Irina Nasteva; Ana Carolina Oliveira; Santiago Perez; Laura Paulucci; Dario Rodrigues; Youssef Sarkis; Ivan Sidelnik; Miguel Sofo Haro; Diego Stalder; Javier Tiffenberg; Pedro Ventura

arXiv · 2405.16316

Search for reactor-produced millicharged particles with Skipper-CCDs at the CONNIE and Atucha-II experiments

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Abstract

Millicharged particles, proposed by various extensions of the standard model, can be created in pairs by high-energy photons within nuclear reactors and can interact electromagnetically with electrons in matter. Recently, the existence of a plasmon peak in the interaction cross-section with silicon in the eV range was highlighted as a promising approach to enhance low-energy sensitivities. The CONNIE and Atucha-II reactor neutrino experiments utilize Skipper-CCD sensors, which enable the detection of interactions in the eV range. We present world-leading limits on the charge of millicharged particles within a mass range spanning six orders of magnitude, derived through a comprehensive analysis and the combination of data from both experiments.

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Alexis A. Aguilar-Arevalo, Nicolas Avalos, Pablo Bellino, Xavier Bertou, Carla Bonifazi, Ana Botti, Mariano Cababié, Gustavo Cancelo, Brenda A. Cervantes-Vergara, Claudio Chavez, Fernando Chierchie, David Delgado, Eliana Depaoli, Juan Carlos D'Olivo, João dos Anjos, Juan Estrada, Guillermo Fernandez Moroni, Aldo R. Fernandes Neto, Richard Ford, Ben Kilminster, Kevin Kuk, Andrew Lathrop, Patrick Lemos, Herman P. Lima Jr., Martin Makler, Agustina Magnoni, Katherine Maslova, Franciole Marinho, Jorge Molina, Irina Nasteva, Ana Carolina Oliveira, Santiago Perez, Laura Paulucci, Dario Rodrigues, Youssef Sarkis, Ivan Sidelnik, Miguel Sofo Haro, Diego Stalder, Javier Tiffenberg, Pedro Ventura. 2024-11-06. Search for reactor-produced millicharged particles with Skipper-CCDs at the CONNIE and Atucha-II experiments. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.16316

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