Signatures of supermassive charged gravitinos in liquid scintillator detectors

Abstract

In a previous work [K.A. Meissner and H. Nicolai, Eur. Phys. J. C {\bf 84}, 269 (2024)], two of the present authors have suggested possible experimental ways to search for stable supermassive particles with electric charges of $\cO(1)$ in upcoming underground experiments, in particular the new Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) experiment. In the current paper, we present a detailed analysis of the specific signature of such gravitino-induced events for the JUNO detector and for upcoming liquid argon detectors like DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment). The proposed method of detection relies on the ``glow'' produced by photons during the passage of such particles through the detector liquid, which would last for about a few to a few hundred microseconds depending on its velocity and the track. The cross sections for electronic excitation of the main component of the scintillator liquid, namely linear alkylbenzene (LAB), by the passing gravitino are evaluated using quantum-chemical methods. The results show that, if such particles exist, the resulting signals would lead to a unique and unmistakable signature, for which we present event simulations as they would be seen by the JUNO or DUNE photomultipliers. Our analysis brings together two very different research areas, namely fundamental particles physics and the search for a fundamental theory on the one hand, and methods of advanced quantum chemistry on the other.

References in corpus (16)

• Neutrino Physics with JUNO
• E10 and a "small tension expansion" of M Theory
• Determination of the Local Dark Matter Density in our Galaxy
• Turning off the Lights: How Dark is Dark Matter?
• Constraints on millicharged particles from Planck
• On partition function and Weyl anomaly of conformal higher spin fields
• Mass Testing and Characterization of 20-inch PMTs for JUNO
• Millicharge or Decay: A Critical Take on Minimal Dark Matter
• A New WIMP Population in the Solar System and New Signals for Dark-Matter Detectors
• Distillation and stripping pilot plants for the JUNO neutrino detector: design, operations and reliability
• Planck Mass Charged Gravitino Dark Matter
• Standard Model Fermions and N=8 supergravity
• Conformal Anomalies and Gravitational Waves
• Standard Model Fermions and Infinite-Dimensional R-Symmetries
• Supermassive gravitinos and giant primordial black holes
• Superheavy Gravitinos and Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays