- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review D

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Reexamining the search for light ALPs at flavor and forward accelerator experiments

Tong Li1,*, Michael A. Schmidt2,†, and Man Yuan1,‡

  • *Contact author: litong@nankai.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: m.schmidt@unsw.edu.au
  • ‡Contact author: yuanman@mail.nankai.edu.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. D 112, 115038 – Published 24 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/174x-dbnn

Abstract

The axionlike particle (ALP) is a well-motivated extension of the Standard Model. In this work, we revisit the sensitivity of forward accelerator experiments to light long-lived ALPs and analyze flavor constraints. Our analysis incorporates recent measurements of the rare decays B→K+X and K→π+X, which place stringent bounds on quark flavor violation of a light ALP. We consider the complete list of hadronic modes in the calculation of the ALP decay rate and exclusive production channels based on recent improvements. The analysis includes the discussion of tree-level quark flavor-violating couplings in addition to a universal flavor-conserving ALP coupling to fermions and the electroweak ALP couplings. Our results demonstrate the complementarity of heavy meson decays and forward accelerator facilities in probing light ALPs. The interplay between two ALP couplings is also investigated.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (114)

  1. R. D. Peccei and H. R. Quinn, Phys. Rev. Lett. 38, 1440 (1977).
  2. R. D. Peccei and H. R. Quinn, Phys. Rev. D 16, 1791 (1977).
  3. S. Weinberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 223 (1978).
  4. F. Wilczek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 279 (1978).
  5. L. Di Luzio, M. Giannotti, E. Nardi, and L. Visinelli, Phys. Rep. 870, 1 (2020).
  6. S. Dimopoulos, Phys. Lett. 84B, 435 (1979).
  7. S. H. H. Tye, Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 1035 (1981).
  8. A. R. Zhitnitsky, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 31, 260 (1980).
  9. M. Dine, W. Fischler, and M. Srednicki, Phys. Lett. 104B, 199 (1981).
  10. B. Holdom and M. E. Peskin, Nucl. Phys. B208, 397 (1982).
  11. D. B. Kaplan, Nucl. Phys. B260, 215 (1985).
  12. M. Srednicki, Nucl. Phys. B260, 689 (1985).
  13. J. M. Flynn and L. Randall, Nucl. Phys. B293, 731 (1987).
  14. M. Kamionkowski and J. March-Russell, Phys. Lett. B 282, 137 (1992).
  15. Z. Berezhiani, L. Gianfagna, and M. Giannotti, Phys. Lett. B 500, 286 (2001).
  16. S. D. H. Hsu and F. Sannino, Phys. Lett. B 605, 369 (2005).
  17. A. Hook, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 141801 (2015).
  18. G. Alonso-Álvarez, M. B. Gavela, and P. Quilez, Eur. Phys. J. C 79, 223 (2019).
  19. A. Hook, S. Kumar, Z. Liu, and R. Sundrum, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 221801 (2020).
  20. J. E. Kim, Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 103 (1979).
  21. M. A. Shifman, A. I. Vainshtein, and V. I. Zakharov, Nucl. Phys. B166, 493 (1980).
  22. M. S. Turner, Phys. Rep. 197, 67 (1990).
  23. V. A. Rubakov, JETP Lett. 65, 621 (1997).
  24. H. Fukuda, K. Harigaya, M. Ibe, and T. T. Yanagida, Phys. Rev. D 92, 015021 (2015).
  25. T. Gherghetta, N. Nagata, and M. Shifman, Phys. Rev. D 93, 115010 (2016).
  26. S. Dimopoulos, A. Hook, J. Huang, and G. Marques-Tavares, J. High Energy Phys. 11 (2016) 052.
  27. C.-W. Chiang, H. Fukuda, M. Ibe, and T. T. Yanagida, Phys. Rev. D 93, 095016 (2016).
  28. M. K. Gaillard, M. B. Gavela, R. Houtz, P. Quilez, and R. Del Rey, Eur. Phys. J. C 78, 972 (2018).
  29. T. Gherghetta and M. D. Nguyen, J. High Energy Phys. 12 (2020) 094.
  30. I. Adachi et al. (Belle-II Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 109, 112006 (2024).
  31. W. G. Parrott, C. Bouchard, and C. T. H. Davies (HPQCD Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 107, 014511 (2023); 107, 119903(E) (2023).
  32. D. Bečirević, G. Piazza, and O. Sumensari, Eur. Phys. J. C 83, 252 (2023).
  33. W. Altmannshofer, A. Crivellin, H. Haigh, G. Inguglia, and J. Martin Camalich, Phys. Rev. D 109, 075008 (2024).
  34. W. Altmannshofer and S. Roy, Phys. Rev. D 111, 075029 (2025).
  35. G.-Q. Dai, C.-X. Yue, Y.-Y. Bu, and Y.-H. Wang, Commun. Theor. Phys. 76, 095202 (2024).
  36. T. Li, Z. Qian, M. A. Schmidt, and M. Yuan, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2024) 232.
  37. L. Calibbi, T. Li, L. Mukherjee, and M. A. Schmidt, Phys. Rev. D 112, 075020 (2025).
  38. Z. G. Berezhiani, M. Y. Khlopov, and R. R. Khomeriki, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 52, 344 (1990).
  39. Z. G. Berezhiani and M. Y. Khlopov, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 51, 935 (1990).
  40. Z. G. Berezhiani and M. Y. Khlopov, Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 51, 739 (1990).
  41. T. Ferber, A. Filimonova, R. Schäfer, and S. Westhoff, J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2023) 131.
  42. R. Aaij et al. (LHCb Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 161802 (2015).
  43. R. Aaij et al. (LHCb Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 95, 071101 (2017).
  44. I. Adachi et al. (Belle-II Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 108, L111104 (2023).
  45. J. P. Lees et al. (BABAR Collaboration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 131802 (2022).
  46. O. Lutz et al. (Belle Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 87, 111103 (2013).
  47. J. Grygier et al. (Belle Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 96, 091101 (2017); 97, 099902(A) (2018).
  48. E. Cortina Gil et al. (NA62 Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2025) 191.
  49. A. Alavi-Harati et al. (KTEV Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5279 (2000).
  50. A. V. Artamonov et al. (E949 Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 623, 192 (2005).
  51. E. Cortina Gil et al. (NA62 Collaboration), Phys. Lett. B 850, 138513 (2024).
  52. E. Abouzaid et al. (KTeV Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 77, 112004 (2008).
  53. D. Guadagnoli, A. Iohner, C. Lazzeroni, D. Martinez Santos, J. C. Swallow, and C. Toni, arXiv:2503.05865.
  54. R. Beltrán, G. Cottin, M. Hirsch, A. Titov, and Z. S. Wang, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2023) 031.
  55. H.-C. Cheng, X.-H. Jiang, and L. Li, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2025) 149.
  56. J. L. Feng, I. Galon, F. Kling, and S. Trojanowski, Phys. Rev. D 97, 035001 (2018).
  57. A. Ariga et al. (FASER Collaboration), arXiv:1811.10243.
  58. A. Ariga et al. (FASER Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 99, 095011 (2019).
  59. A. Ariga et al. (FASER Collaboration), arXiv:1812.09139.
  60. A. Ariga et al. (FASER Collaboration), arXiv:1901.04468.
  61. H. Abreu et al. (FASER Collaboration), J. Instrum. 19, P05066 (2024).
  62. J. L. Feng et al., J. Phys. G 50, 030501 (2023).
  63. I. Boiarska, K. Bondarenko, A. Boyarsky, M. Ovchynnikov, O. Ruchayskiy, and A. Sokolenko, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2020) 049.
  64. S. Cerci et al., J. High Energy Phys. 06 (2022) 110.
  65. M. Bauer, M. Neubert, and A. Thamm, J. High Energy Phys. 12 (2017) 044.
  66. D. Aloni, Y. Soreq, and M. Williams, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 031803 (2019).
  67. H.-C. Cheng, L. Li, and E. Salvioni, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2022) 122.
  68. G. Dalla Valle Garcia, F. Kahlhoefer, M. Ovchynnikov, and A. Zaporozhchenko, Phys. Rev. D 109, 055042 (2024).
  69. M. Ovchynnikov and A. Zaporozhchenko, Phys. Rev. D 112, 015001 (2025).
  70. M. B. Gavela, R. Houtz, P. Quilez, R. Del Rey, and O. Sumensari, Eur. Phys. J. C 79, 369 (2019).
  71. R. Mammen Abraham et al. (FASER Collaboration), J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2025) 199.
  72. J. Sun, Z.-P. Xing, and S. Yun, Chin. Phys. 49, 113109 (2025).
  73. H. Georgi, D. B. Kaplan, and L. Randall, Phys. Lett. 169B, 73 (1986).
  74. M. Bauer, M. Neubert, S. Renner, M. Schnubel, and A. Thamm, J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2021) 063.
  75. M. Bauer, M. Neubert, S. Renner, M. Schnubel, and A. Thamm, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2022) 056.
  76. J. Martin Camalich, M. Pospelov, P. N. H. Vuong, R. Ziegler, and J. Zupan, Phys. Rev. D 102, 015023 (2020).
  77. A. Carmona, C. Scherb, and P. Schwaller, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2021) 121.
  78. C. D. Froggatt and H. B. Nielsen, Nucl. Phys. B147, 277 (1979).
  79. F. Wilczek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1549 (1982).
  80. Y. Ema, K. Hamaguchi, T. Moroi, and K. Nakayama, J. High Energy Phys. 01 (2017) 096.
  81. L. Calibbi, F. Goertz, D. Redigolo, R. Ziegler, and J. Zupan, Phys. Rev. D 95, 095009 (2017).
  82. F. Björkeroth, L. Di Luzio, F. Mescia, and E. Nardi, J. High Energy Phys. 02 (2019) 133.
  83. L. M. G. de la Vega, N. Nath, S. Nellen, and E. Peinado, Eur. Phys. J. C 81, 608 (2021).
  84. F. Arias-Aragon and L. Merlo, J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2017) 168; 11 (2019) 152(E).
  85. L. Di Luzio, A. W. M. Guerrera, X. P. Díaz, and S. Rigolin, J. High Energy Phys. 06 (2023) 046.
  86. M. Ovchynnikov, https://github.com/maksymovchynnikov/SensCalc.
  87. A. Greljo, A. Smolkovič, and A. Valenti, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2024) 174.
  88. L. Calibbi, T. Li, L. Mukherjee, and Y. Yang, Phys. Rev. D 110, 115009 (2024).
  89. M. Bauer, M. Neubert, S. Renner, M. Schnubel, and A. Thamm, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 081803 (2021).
  90. X.-G. He, X.-D. Ma, and G. Valencia, J. High Energy Phys. 03 (2023) 037.
  91. K. Fridell, M. Ghosh, T. Okui, and K. Tobioka, Phys. Rev. D 109, 115006 (2024).
  92. J. P. Lees et al. (BABAR Collaboration, Phys. Rev. D 87, 112005 (2013).
  93. X.-G. He, X.-D. Ma, and G. Valencia, Phys. Rev. D 109, 075019 (2024).
  94. G. D’Ambrosio, A. M. Iyer, F. Mahmoudi, and S. Neshatpour, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2022) 148.
  95. J. K. Ahn et al. (KOTO Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 021802 (2019).
  96. B.-F. Hou, X.-Q. Li, M. Shen, Y.-D. Yang, and X.-B. Yuan, J. High Energy Phys. 06 (2024) 172.
  97. A. J. Buras, Eur. Phys. J. C 83, 66 (2023).
  98. J.-M. Gerard, C. Smith, and S. Trine, Nucl. Phys. B730, 1 (2005).
  99. G. D’Ambrosio and J. Portoles, Nucl. Phys. B492, 417 (1997).
  100. B. Wang, Proc. Sci., LATTICE2021 (2022) 141 [arXiv:2301.01387].
  101. S. Navas et al. (Particle Data Group), Phys. Rev. D 110, 030001 (2024).
  102. L. Di Luzio, M. Kirk, A. Lenz, and T. Rauh, J. High Energy Phys. 12 (2019) 009.
  103. J. A. Bagger, K. T. Matchev, and R.-J. Zhang, Phys. Lett. B 412, 77 (1997).
  104. Y. Amhis et al. (HFLAV Collaboration), Eur. Phys. J. C 77, 895 (2017).
  105. R. Aaij et al. (LHCb Collaboration), Nat. Phys. 18, 1 (2022).
  106. F. Kling and S. Trojanowski, Phys. Rev. D 104, 035012 (2021).
  107. P. Ball and R. Zwicky, Phys. Rev. D 71, 014015 (2005).
  108. Y.-J. Sun, Z.-H. Li, and T. Huang, Phys. Rev. D 83, 025024 (2011).
  109. P. Ball and R. Zwicky, Phys. Rev. D 71, 014029 (2005).
  110. C.-D. Lu and W. Wang, Phys. Rev. D 85, 034014 (2012).
  111. H. Hatanaka and K.-C. Yang, Phys. Rev. D 79, 114008 (2009).
  112. V. Bashiry, J. High Energy Phys. 06 (2009) 062.
  113. I. Boiarska, K. Bondarenko, A. Boyarsky, V. Gorkavenko, M. Ovchynnikov, and A. Sokolenko, J. High Energy Phys. 11 (2019) 162.
  114. T. Li, M. A. Schmidt, and M. Yuan, Publicly available data, https://zenodo.org/records/17810222 (2025), 10.5281/zenodo.17810222.

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. D 112, 115038– Published 24 December, 2025
  • Received 18 June 2025
  • Accepted 3 December 2025
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation