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 Physics at Virginia
ABSTRACT:

The Muon-to-Electron-Conversion (Mu2e) Experiment is a high-precision, intensity-frontier experiment being developed at Fermilab which will search for coherent, neutrino-less muon to electron conversion in the presence of an atomic nucleus. Such a process would exhibit charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV), which has not yet been observed. Continuing the search for CLFV, Mu2e will improve the sensitivity by four orders of magnitude over the present limits. In the search for beyond the standard model (BSM) physics, Mu2e is uniquely sensitive to a wide range of models by indirectly probing mass scales up to the energy scale of 104 TeV. While muon-to-electron-conversion is permissible through neutrino oscillations in an extension of the standard model, the rate is extremely low at about one event in 1054. By design, the background for the experiment will be well-understood and kept at a sub-event level, which results in the observation of muon-to-electron conversion as direct confirmation of BSM physics. The largest background comes from processes initiated by cosmic-ray muons, which will produce approximately one CLFV-like event per day. In order to reduce this rate to less than one event over the lifetime of the experiment a large and highly efficient cosmic ray veto (CRV) detector is needed. The CRV will cover the experimental apparatus with an area of approximately 330 m2. The overall efficiency must be no les than 99.99%, a requirement that must be maintained in the presence of intense backgrounds produced by proton and muon beams. The detector employs long scintillator strips with embedded wavelength shifting fibers, read out using silicon photomultipliers. Key features of the talk involve the design, fabrication, and performance of the CRV, along with an overview of the Mu2e experiment.

High Energy Physics Seminar
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
4:00 PM
Physics Building, Room 204
Note special time.
Note special room.

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