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  • Open Access

Search for light dark sectors with GeV muon beams

Zijian Wang*, Leyun Gao, Zhuo Chen, Cheng-en Liu, Jinning Li, Qite Li, Chen Zhou, and Qiang Li

Yu Xu, Xueheng Zhang, Liangwen Chen, and Zhiyu Sun

Ce Zhang†

  • School of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

  • *Contact author: wangzijian@stu.pku.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: ce.zhang@liverpool.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 072008 – Published 13 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9srh-sw94

Abstract

Sub-GeV light dark matter often requires new light mediators, such as a dark Z boson in the Lμ−Lτ gauge theory. We study the search potential for such a Z′ boson via the process μe−→μe−X, with X decaying invisibly, in a muon on-target experiment using a high-intensity 1–10 GeV muon beam from facilities such as HIAF-HIRIBL. Events are identified by the scattered muon and electron from the target using the silicon strip detectors in a single-station telescope system. Backgrounds are suppressed through a trained boosted decision tree classifier, and activity in downstream subdetectors remains low. We find that this approach can probe a Z′ in the 10 MeV mass range with improved sensitivity.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 072008– Published 13 April, 2026
  • Received 19 November 2025
  • Accepted 19 March 2026
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