This paper describes the physics case for a new fixed target facility at CERN SPS. The SHiP (search for hidden particles) experiment is intended to hunt for new physics in the largely unexplored domain of very weakly interacting particles with masses below the Fermi scale, inaccessible to the LHC experiments, and to study tau neutrino physics. The same proton beam setup can be used later to look for decays of tau-leptons with lepton flavour number non-conservation, [Formula: see text] and to search for weakly-interacting sub-GeV dark matter candidates. We discuss the evidence for physics beyond the standard model and describe interactions between new particles and four different portals-scalars, vectors, fermions or axion-like particles. We discuss motivations for different models, manifesting themselves via these interactions, and how they can be probed with the SHiP experiment and present several case studies. The prospects to search for relatively light SUSY and composite particles at SHiP are also discussed. We demonstrate that the SHiP experiment has a unique potential to discover new physics and can directly probe a number of solutions of beyond the standard model puzzles, such as neutrino masses, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, dark matter, and inflation.

The Physics Beyond Colliders initiative is an exploratory study aimed at exploiting the full scientific potential of the CERN's accelerator complex and scientific infrastructures through projects complementary to the LHC and other possible future colliders. These projects will target fundamental physics questions in modern particle physics.ii 7 Physics reach of PBC projects 66 8 Physics reach of PBC projects in the sub-eV mass range 66 8.1 Axion portal with photon dominance (BC9) 66 9 Physics reach of PBC projects in the MeV-GeV mass range 73 9.1 Vector Portal 78 9.1.1 Minimal Dark Photon model (BC1) 78 9.1.2 Dark Photon decaying to invisible final states (BC2) 83 9.1.3 Milli-charged particles (BC3) 90 9.2 Scalar Portal 93 9.2.1 Dark scalar mixing with the Higgs (BC4 and BC5) 93 9.3 Neutrino Portal 97 9.3.1 Neutrino portal with electron-flavor dominance (BC6) 98 9.3.2 Neutrino portal with muon-flavor dominance (BC7) 101 9.3.3 Neutrino portal with tau-flavor dominance (BC8) 103 9.4 Axion Portal 106 9.4.1 Axion portal with photon-coupling (BC9) 106 9.4.2 Axion portal with fermion-coupling (BC10) 110 9.4.3 Axion portal with gluon-coupling (BC11) 113 10 Physics reach of PBC projects in the multi-TeV mass range 115 10.1 Measurement of EDMs as probe of NP in the multi TeV scale 115 10.2 Experiments sensitive to Flavour Violation 116 10.3 B physics anomalies and BR(K → πνν) 120 11 Conclusions and Outlook 121 A ALPS: prescription for treating the FCNC processes 123 B ALPs: production via π 0 , η, η mixing 126 Executive SummaryThe main goal of this document follows very closely the mandate of the Physics Beyond Colliders (PBC) study group, and is "an exploratory study aimed at exploiting the full scientific potential of CERN's accelerator complex and its scientific infrastructure through projects complementary to the LHC, HL-LHC and other possible future colliders. These projects would target fundamental physics questions that are similar in spirit to those addressed by high-energy colliders, but that require different types of beams and experiments 1 ". Fundamental questions in modern particle physics as the origin of the neutrino masses and oscillations, the nature of Dark Matter and the explanation of the mechanism that drives the baryogenesis are still open today and do require an answer.So far an unambiguous signal of New Physics (NP) from direct searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), indirect searches in flavour physics and direct detection Dark Matter experiments is absent. Moreover, theory provides no clear guidance on the NP scale. This imposes today, more than ever, a broadening of the experimental effort in the quest for NP. We need to explore different ranges of interaction strengths and masses with respect to what is already covered by existing or planned initiatives.Low-mass and very-weakly coupled particles represent an attractive possibility, theoretically and phenomenologically well motivated, but currently poorly explored: a systematic investigation should be pursued in the next decades both at acc...

High-energy colliders offer a unique sensitivity to dark photons, the mediators of a broken dark U(1) gauge theory that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model (SM) hypercharge. Dark photons can be detected in the exotic decay of the 125 GeV Higgs boson, h → ZZ D → 4 , and in Drell-Yan events, pp → Z D → . If the dark U(1) is broken by a hidden-sector Higgs mechanism, then mixing between the dark and SM Higgs bosons also allows the exotic decay h → Z D Z D → 4 . We show that the 14 TeV LHC and a 100 TeV proton-proton collider provide powerful probes of both exotic Higgs decay channels. In the case of kinetic mixing alone, direct Drell-Yan production offers the best sensitivity to Z D , and can probe 9 × 10 −4 (4 × 10 −4 ) at the HL-LHC (100 TeV pp collider). The exotic Higgs decay h → ZZ D offers slightly weaker sensitivity, but both measurements are necessary to distinguish the kinetically mixed dark photon from other scenarios. If Higgs mixing is also present, then the decay h → Z D Z D can allow sensitivity to the Z D for 10 −9 − 10 −6 (10 −10 − 10 −7 ) for the mass range 2m µ < m Z D < m h /2 by searching for displaced dark photon decays. We also compare the Z D sensitivity at pp colliders to the indirect, but model-independent, sensitivity of global fits to electroweak precision observables. We perform a global electroweak fit of the dark photon model, substantially updating previous work in the literature. Electroweak precision measurements at LEP, Tevatron, and the LHC exclude as low as 3 × 10 −2 . Sensitivity can be improved by up to a factor of ∼ 2 with HL-LHC data, and an additional factor of ∼ 4 with ILC/GigaZ data.

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We perform an extensive survey of nonstandard Higgs decays that are consistent with the 125 GeV Higgs-like resonance. Our aim is to motivate a large set of new experimental analyses on the existing and forthcoming data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The explicit search for exotic Higgs decays presents a largely untapped discovery opportunity for the LHC collaborations, as such decays may be easily missed by other searches. We emphasize that the Higgs is uniquely sensitive to the potential existence of new weakly coupled particles and provide a unified discussion of a large class of both simplified and complete models that give rise to characteristic patterns of exotic Higgs decays. We assess the status of exotic Higgs decays after LHC run I. In many cases we are able to set new nontrivial constraints by reinterpreting existing experimental analyses. We point out that improvements are possible with dedicated analyses and perform some preliminary collider studies. We prioritize the analyses according to their theoretical motivation and their experimental feasibility. This document is accompanied by a Web site that will be continuously updated with further information [http://exotichiggs.physics .sunysb.edu].

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We examine the theoretical motivations for long-lived particle (LLP) signals at the LHC in a comprehensive survey of standard model (SM) extensions. LLPs are a common prediction of a wide range of theories that address unsolved fundamental mysteries such as naturalness, dark matter, baryogenesis and neutrino masses, and represent a natural and generic possibility for physics beyond the SM (BSM). In most cases the LLP lifetime can be treated as a free parameter from the µm scale up to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limit of ∼10 7 m. Neutral LLPs with lifetimes above ∼ 100 m are particularly difficult to probe, as the sensitivity of the LHC main detectors is limited by challenging backgrounds, triggers, and small acceptances. MATHUSLA is a proposal for a minimally instrumented, large-volume surface detector near ATLAS or CMS. It would search for neutral LLPs produced in HL-LHC collisions by reconstructing displaced vertices (DVs) in a low-background environment, extending the sensitivity of the main detectors by orders of magnitude in the long-lifetime regime. We study the LLP physics opportunities afforded by a MATHUSLA-like detector at the HL-LHC, assuming backgrounds can be rejected as expected. We develop a model-independent approach to describe the sensitivity of MATHUSLA to BSM LLP signals, and compare it to DV and missing energy searches at ATLAS or CMS. We then explore the BSM motivations for LLPs in considerable detail, presenting a large number of new sensitivity studies. While our discussion is especially oriented towards the long-lifetime regime at MATHUSLA, this survey underlines the importance of a varied LLP search program at the LHC in general. By synthesizing these results into a general discussion of the top-down and bottom-up motivations for LLP searches, it is our aim to demonstrate the exceptional strength and breadth of the physics case for the construction of the MATHUSLA detector.

Long-lived particles (LLPs) are a common feature in many beyond the Standard Model theories, including supersymmetry, and are generically produced in exotic Higgs decays. Unfortunately, no existing or proposed search strategy will be able to observe the decay of non-hadronic electrically neutral LLPs with masses above ∼ GeV and lifetimes near the limit set by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), cτ 10 7 − 10 8 m. We propose the MATHUSLA surface detector concept (MAssive Timing Hodoscope for Ultra Stable neutraL pArticles), which can be implemented with existing technology and in time for the high luminosity LHC upgrade to find such ultra-long-lived particles (ULLPs), whether produced in exotic Higgs decays or more general production modes. We also advocate for a dedicated LLP detector at a future 100 TeV collider, where a modestly sized underground design can discover ULLPs with lifetimes at the BBN limit produced in sub-percent level exotic Higgs decays.