Speaker
Description
The violation of baryon number is a key ingredient for explaining the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe, yet no such process has been observed experimentally. The HIBEAM/NNBAR program at the European Spallation Source is conceived as a two-stage experimental program designed to open a new discovery window for baryon number violation using free neutrons. The first stage, HIBEAM, is based on a multi-purpose, magnetically controlled beamline enabling a broad physics program, including the first competitive search for free n → n̄ oscillations since the last dedicated experiment, with an expected order-of-magnitude improvement in sensitivity. Beyond the standard n → n̄ mixing scenario, HIBEAM is sensitive to a broader class of neutron conversion processes, providing laboratory tests of physics beyond the Standard Model, including possible connections to dark-sector portals. The second stage, NNBAR, is a dedicated experiment optimized for n → n̄ oscillation searches, exploiting a higher neutron flux and a longer free-flight region to achieve sensitivity gains of up to three orders of magnitude compared to previous experiments. This talk reviews the physics motivation, experimental concepts, current status, and the ongoing conceptual and technical planning toward first physics results.
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