Event

Accelerator-based experiments provide a unique opportunity to expand the search for dark sector and rare processes in the MeV to GeV mass range, just below the proton mass. This largely unexplored regime is well-motivated by models invoking a simple thermal origin for dark matter. Accelerator experiments can produce dark sector candidates by, for example, scattering a high-intensity beam on a fixed target.

In this talk, I will survey the current landscape of dark sector searches and identify two compelling and urgent opportunities for the US to take the lead in the search for sub-GeV dark sector particles: the Light Dark Matter eXperiment (LDMX), an electron beam experiment at SLAC, and DarkQuest, a proton beam experiment at Fermilab. I will discuss the physics goals and plans of these experiments, paying attention to the technology and beamlines that will make these experiments possible. Finally, I will place these initiatives in the broader context of the international hunt for new physics at low mass.