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April 1, 2022
The new detector, known as MAPP, will increase the physics reach of the MoEDAL experiment and the Large Hadron Collider
Image above: Installation of the support structure for the MAPP detector components. (Image: CERN).
The MoEDAL collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is adding a new detector to its experiment, in time for the start of the next run of the collider this coming summer. Named as the MoEDAL Apparatus for Penetrating Particles, or MAPP for short, the new detector will expand the physics scope of MoEDAL to include searches for minicharged particles and long-lived particles.
MoEDAL’s current portfolio of searches for new unknown particles includes searches for magnetic monopoles, theoretical particles with a magnetic charge, and dyons, theoretical particles with both magnetic and electric charge. These searches are conducted using two detector systems, one consisting of detectors that track particles and measure their charge, and another comprising detectors that trap particles for further investigation.
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
Using these tracking and trapping detector systems, the MoEDAL team has chalked up several achievements, including narrowing the regions of where to look for point-like magnetic monopoles, the first search at a particle accelerator for dyons, and more recently the first search at a particle collider for Schwinger monopoles, which have a finite size.
The new MAPP detector, which is currently being installed in a tunnel adjacent to the LHC tunnel, consists of two main parts. One part, MAPP-mCP, will search for minicharged particles (mCP) – particles with a fractional charge as small as a thousandth of the electron’s charge – using scintillation bars. Another part of the detector, MAPP-LLP, will search for long-lived particles (LLP) employing so-called scintillator hodoscopes arranged in a ‘Russian doll’ configuration.
“MoEDAL-MAPP will allow us to explore many models of physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, in ways that are complementary to those of the other LHC detectors,” says MoEDAL spokesperson Jim Pinfold.
Note:
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.
The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.
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Related links:
Large Hadron Collider (LHC): https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider
MoEDAL: https://home.cern/science/experiments/moedal-mapp
Schwinger monopoles: https://home.cern/news/news/physics/moedal-bags-first
Standard Model: https://home.cern/science/physics/standard-model
Dyons: https://home.cern/news/news/physics/moedal-hunts-dyons
For more information about European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Visit: https://home.cern/
Image (mentioned), Animation, Text, Credits: CERN/By Ana Lopes.
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