Searching for Dark Photons with PADME

Abstract

PADME is a fixed-target, missing-mass experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF) to search for evidence of dark photons. It has collected a first set of commissioning data in 2018/2019 which will also be used for preliminary data analysis. PADME is expected to reach a sensitivity of up to $10^{-8}$ in ${\epsilon }^2$ (kinetic mixing coefficient) for low-mass dark photons ($\sim$ few MeV). Here we describe PADME's design, status of the experiment, and future plans.

Talk presented at the 2019 Meeting of the Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society (DPF2019), July 29 - August 2, 2019, Northeastern University, Boston, C1907293