The milliQan experiment: search for millicharged particles at the LHC

• Matthew Daniel Citron (Univ. of California Santa Barbara (US))

Room: Sunrise - WH11NE Arising in hidden sector models of dark matter, millicharged particles may be produced copiously at the LHC. However, due to their very small energy depositions, general purpose detectors are blind to such particles. In order to provide sensitivity, the milliQan experiment consists of several layers of long scintillator bars pointing towards the CMS interaction point, paired with high-gain, low-noise photomultiplier tubes capable of measuring a single scintillation photon. In 2017, a 1% scale "demonstrator" was installed at the planned site in order to study the feasibility and develop understanding of the experiment. The demonstrator ran very successfully, allowing a search to be undertaken that set competitive constraints and providing critical insights for future detectors. In this talk I will discuss the general concept of the experiment, the results from the demonstrator, and the plan for future detectors at the LHC and beyond.