Probing Leptophilic Dark Sectors at Electron Beam-Dump Facilities

Abstract: Medium-energy electron beam-dump experiments provide an intense sources of secondary muons. These particles can be used to search for muon-coupling light dark scalars that may explain the $(g-2)_\mu$ anomaly. We applied this idea to SLAC E137 experiment deriving new exclusion limits and evaluated the expected sensitivity for the planned Jefferson Lab BDX experiment (in case of null result report). The calculation is based on numerical simulations that include a realistic description of secondary muons generation in the dump, dark scalar production, propagation, and decay, and, finally, the decay products (electrons, positrons, or photons) interaction with the detector. For both experiments, exclusion limits were extended to cover a broader area in the scalar-to-muon coupling vs. scalar mass parameter space. This study demonstrates that electron beam-dump experiments have an enhanced sensitivity to new physics in processes that are usually studied using proton beams.