New Limits on Light Hidden Sectors from Fixed-Target Experiments

Abstract: New physics can be light if it is hidden, coupling very weakly to the Standard Model. In this work we investigate the discovery prospects of Abelian hidden sectors in lower-energy fixed-target and high-precision experiments. We focus on a minimal supersymmetric realization consisting of an Abelian vector multiplet, coupled to hypercharge by kinetic mixing, and a pair of chiral Higgs multiplets. This simple theory can give rise to a broad range of experimental signals, including both commonly-studied patterns of hidden vector decay as well as new and distinctive hidden sector cascades. We find limits from the production of hidden states other than the vector itself. In particular, we show that if the hidden Abelian symmetry is higgsed, and the corresponding hidden Higgs boson has visible decays, it severely restricts the ability of the hidden sector to explain the anomalous muon magnetic moment.