ORKA: The Golden Kaon Experiment

TL;DR

ORKA aims to precisely measure the rare K+ -> pi+ nu nubar decay rate, significantly improving sensitivity over previous experiments to explore potential new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Contribution

The paper proposes a new experiment design that enhances detection sensitivity by two orders of magnitude compared to previous efforts, enabling more precise tests of the Standard Model.

Findings

Design improvements increase sensitivity tenfold.

Expected measurement precision matches Standard Model predictions.

Potential to detect new physics at high energy scales.

Abstract

ORKA is a proposed experiment to measure the K+ -> pi+ nu nubar branching ratio with 5% precision using the Fermilab Main Injector high intensity proton source. The detector design is based on the BNL E787/E949 experiments, which detected seven candidate events. Two orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity relative to the BNL experiments comes from enhancements to the beam line and the detector acceptance. Precise measurement of the K+ -> pi+ nu nubar branching ratio with the same level of uncertainty as the well-understood Standard Model prediction allows for sensitivity to new physics at and beyond the LHC mass scale.