Sensitivity of the SHiP experiment to light dark matter

Understand

Dark matter is a well-established theoretical addition to the Standard Model supported by many observations in modern astrophysics and cosmology.

• In this context, the existence of weakly interacting massive particles represents an appealing solution to the observed thermal relic in the Universe.
• Indeed, a large experimental campaign is ongoing for the detection of such particles in the sub-GeV mass range.
• Adopting the benchmark scenario for light dark matter particles produced in the decay of a dark photon, with $\alpha_D=0.1$ and $m_{A'}=3m_{\chi}$, we study the potential of the SHiP experiment to detect such elusive particles through its Scattering and Neutrino detector (SND).