Speaker
Description
The Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment targets searching for feebly interacting particles (FIPs) with extremely weak couplings to the known standard model particles. For this, it will exploit the high-intensity proton beam from CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) in beam-dump mode to produce FIPs, such as heavy neutral leptons (HNLs), dark photons, dark scalars, axion-like particles (ALPs) that will be searched for by their decay signatures. SHiP will also host a dedicated detector for precise studies of tau neutrinos and other neutrino interactions and for light dark matter searches.
The initial phase of SHiP comprises the muon shield, the veto systems, a helium-filled decay volume, the tracking system, and the spectrometer magnet. This "minimal" setup can measure backgrounds and improve current experimental FIP limits by 1-2 orders of magnitude, depending on the model. It will be followed by the full physics programme of SHiP with planned exploration for 15 years of data-taking.
In this talk, I will discuss the current status of the SHiP experiment, its timeline, and physics goals, which can already be achieved during the first physics run before the long shutdown 4 of the LHC, as well as the full potential of the facility.
