Collider Cross Talk
ALICE results on light (anti-)nuclei: impact on the search for new physics in cosmic rays with AMS02
by ,
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Europe/Zurich
4/3-006 - TH Conference Room (CERN)
Description
Cosmic-ray anti-deuterium and anti-helium have long been suggested as probes of dark matter or exotic new physics, as their secondary astrophysical production was thought extremely scarce. Anti-nuclei cross section data is mainly available from AA or pA collisions, but secondary astrophysical production occurs dominantly in pp collisions, where laboratory cross section data is lacking. The first measurement of anti-nuclei production for A=2 and A=3 in pp collisions at LHC energies has recently become available from the ALICE collaboration. For A=3, the production cross section revealed by these measurements is about an order of magnitude higher than predicted in most past theoretical estimates in the cosmic-ray literature. We will discuss the experimental and some theoretical aspects of this measurement and its impact on searches for new physics with the AMS-02 experiment.