Search for slow magnetic monopoles with the NOvA detector on the surface

Authors: M. A. Acero, P. Adamson, L. Aliaga, Peter Filip, František Hakl, Miloš Lokajíček, Jaroslav Zálešák
Publication year: 2021
Publication type: Článek v odborném periodiku
Periodical: Physical Review D
Bibliographic citation: ACERO, M. A., ADAMSON, P., ALIAGA, L., FILIP, Peter, HAKL, František, LOKAJÍČEK, Miloš, ZÁLEŠÁK, Jaroslav. Search for slow magnetic monopoles with the NOvA detector on the surface. Physical Review D. 2021, 103(1), 012007. ISSN 2470-0010. E-ISSN 2470-0029
Dostupné z: doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.103.012007.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.103.012007
ID: 548905
Online record: View online record

Abstract

We report a search for a magnetic monopole component of the cosmic-ray flux in a 95-day exposure of the NOvA experiment’s Far Detector, a 14 kt segmented liquid scintillator detector designed primarily to observe GeV-scale electron neutrinos. No events consistent with monopoles were observed, setting an upper limit on the flux of 2×10-14 cm−2 s−1 sr−1 at 90% C.L. for monopole speed 6×10-4<β<5×10-3 and mass greater than 5×108 GeV. Because of NOvA’s small overburden of 3 meters-water equivalent, this constraint covers a previously unexplored low-mass region.