Particle Physics in Birmingham

Particle Physics Seminar

Wednesday 20th May 2015 at 13:30
Poynting Small Lecture Theatre

(tea, coffee and biscuits served at 13:15)

The Search for Heavy Neutrinos at NA62

Francis Newson (Birmingham University)


Abstract

Heavy neutrinos are predicted by many beyond-the-Standard-Model theories of particle physics, with proposed masses ranging from a few eV/c2 up to the Planck scale. Two-body kaon decays provide a method to search for these particles in a model independent manner, for masses between 100 MeV/c2 and 388 MeV/c2. In 2007, the NA62 experiment at CERN collected a large sample of charged kaon decays with a low intensity beam and minimum bias trigger conditions, which can be used to put limits on the mixing between heavy neutrinos and the Standard Model muon neutrino. I will discuss my analysis of this data set and the sensitivity to heavy neutrinos.