New experimental limits on strongly interacting massive particles at the TeV scale.

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Nuclear Physics
• Astrophysics

Background:

• The existence of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) is hypothesized.
• SIMPs could potentially bind to atomic nuclei, forming anomalously heavy isotopes.
• Searching for these heavy isotopes provides an indirect method to detect SIMPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To search for evidence of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) bound to gold (Au) and iron (Fe) nuclei.
• To establish limits on the abundance of hypothetical anomalously heavy isotopes of Au and Fe.
• To constrain the properties of SIMPs based on experimental findings.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of gold samples from diverse sources, including the NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility satellite, RHIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and geological samples.
• Analysis of iron samples from various geological sources.
• Utilizing mass spectrometry or similar high-precision techniques to detect deviations from expected isotopic masses.

Main Results:

• No evidence for the presence of SIMPs bound to Au or Fe nuclei was detected in any of the analyzed samples.
• Stringent upper limits were placed on the abundance of anomalous Au isotopes, as low as approximately 10(-12) for masses up to 1.67 TeV/c(2).
• Stringent upper limits were placed on the abundance of anomalous Fe isotopes, as low as approximately 10(-12) for masses up to 0.65 TeV/c(2).

Conclusions:

• The search for SIMPs manifesting as heavy isotopes of gold and iron yielded null results.
• The study sets significant new limits on the possible abundance of such anomalous isotopes, thereby constraining SIMP models.
• Further experimental efforts with increased sensitivity may be required to probe lower SIMP abundance scenarios.