Searching for New Long-Lived Particles in Heavy-Ion Collisions at the LHC

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Particle Physics
• Nuclear Physics

Background:

• The search for new long-lived particles is crucial for exploring physics beyond the Standard Model.
• Current searches often rely on proton-proton collisions, which have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of heavy-ion collisions at the LHC for discovering new long-lived particles.
• To compare the efficacy of heavy-ion collisions with proton collisions for specific new physics scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the unique conditions of heavy-ion collisions, including looser trigger requirements and the absence of pileup.
• Analyzing potential new production mechanisms unique to heavy-ion environments.
• Examining the case of heavy neutrinos produced from B meson decays.

Main Results:

• Heavy-ion collisions can significantly increase the number of observable events, especially for low transverse momentum particles.
• The absence of pileup in heavy-ion collisions mitigates systematic uncertainties like vertex misidentification.
• Searches for heavy neutrinos in heavy-ion data can be competitive with proton-proton data.

Conclusions:

• Heavy-ion collisions present a promising and advantageous environment for searching for new long-lived particles.
• The use of lighter ions in heavy-ion collisions is well-justified for new physics searches.