Abstract
After the announcement of the discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC in 2012, we crossed a threshold into an unprecedented era of Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics. However, to date, there is no sign of new physics in sight. Searching for BSM physics, either directly through new particle production or indirectly through precision measurements, is a key and fast-evolving field in particle physics providing many unique approaches and discovery opportunities, casting a wide net across hundreds of searches and observables.
The MoEDAL (pronounced medal) experiment at Point 8 on the LHC ring is the seventh LHC experiment and the first dedicated to the search for BSM physics. It took data at LHC’s Run-1 and Run-2. The MoEDAL detector is an unconventional and mostly passive detector comprised of the largest array of Nuclear Track Detector stacks ever deployed at an accelerator. Another novel feature is the use of paramagnetic trapping volumes to capture electrically and magnetically charged HIPs. The main passive elements of the MoEDAL detector do not require a trigger, electronic readout, or data acquisition. Uniquely, MoEDAL provides a permanent record of any new physics signal with no Standard Model physics background. An upgraded MoEDAL detector, installed for Run-3, is currently taking data. MoEDAL is dedicated to the search for Highly Ionizing Particle avatars of BSM physics, significantly expanding the discovery horizon of the LHC in a complementary way. The enhanced sensitivity of the upgraded MoEDAL detector at Run-3 allows us to search for massive singly and multiply charged Long Lived Particles (LLPs) from various BSM scenarios for which MoEDAL has a competitive sensitivity.
As part of a MoEDAL-MAPP New Physics Search Facility (MNPSF) at the LHC, the MoEDAL Collaboration is currently installing the MoEDAL Apparatus for Penetrating Particles (MAPP-1) in the UA83 tunnel some 100m from IP8. The purpose of the MAPP-1 detector is to extend the reach of the MoEDAL experiment to include sensitivity to Feebly Ionizing Particles such as milli-charged particles. MAPP-1 combined with MoEDAL trapping detectors also has an unprecedented sensitivity to massive, charged LLPs. Also, MAPP-1 has some sensitivity to extremely long-lived neutral particles. Additionally, the MoEDAL-MAPP Collaboration is planning an expansion of the MNPSF that includes the installation of the MAPP-2 detector in the UGC1 Gallery that lies between 26m and 55m from Point-8, for data taking at the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). The sensitivity of MAPP-2 is complementary to other planned LLP detectors and the existing LHC general-purpose detectors. The Large Hadron Collider Committee has endorsed MoEDAL’s plans for deployment of the MAPP-2 detector at the HL-LHC. We will discuss past results from the MoEDAL experiment as well as the expected sensitivity of the MNPSF which is dedicated to revealing revolutionary insights into a variety of fundamental questions; Does magnetic charge exist? Do topological particles exist? Are there new symmetries of nature? Are there extra dimensions? What is the nature of dark matter? How did the universe unfurl at the earliest times? In short, the MNPSF will significantly enhance the discovery horizon of the LHC.
