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Probing Long-Lived Particle Production in Muon Decays at the SNS with a Highly Capable Hydrocarbon Detector
Preprint   Open access

Probing Long-Lived Particle Production in Muon Decays at the SNS with a Highly Capable Hydrocarbon Detector

M Andriamirado, A. B Balantekin, C. D Bass, O. Benevides Rodrigues, E. P Bernard, N. S Bowden, C. D Bryan, R Carr, T Classen, A. J Conant, …
ArXiv.org
17 Jun 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2606.19299
url
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.19299View
Preprint (Author's original) Open arXiv.org - Non-exclusive license to distribute

Abstract

Physics - High Energy Physics - Experiment Physics - High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a prolific muon producer, making it an ideal location for studying dark sector particles produced in muon decays at rest. In this paper, we explore sub-GeV dark particle detection possibilities in a tons-scale, highly capable hydrocarbon scintillator ( HC² ) detector at the SNS. We consider a search fore⁺e⁻final states produced by decays of long-lived,O(10-100)MeV axion-like particles and heavy neutral leptons. TheHC²technology space, exemplified by the PROSPECT and Mobile Antineutrino Demonstrator detectors, offers strong rejection capabilities for the cosmic ray backgrounds that would normally dominate this search. By benchmarking on-surface cosmic ray signatures with data from PROSPECT at ORNL, we generate robust predictions for a multi-year SNS deployment of a range ofHC²detector implementations. Results indicate the potential for order-of-magnitude improvements in sensitivity to axion-like particles and heavy neutral leptons in the 10-100 MeV mass regime compared to current global limits. We also comment on the neutrino detection possibilities of aHC²deployment at the SNS.

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