Speaker
Description
In this talk, I will discuss the physics program of the low-energy, high-intensity electron accelerator MESA, currently under construction at the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Mainz. Designed to support a comprehensive physics program, MESA will facilitate three distinct experiments. An external beamline will deliver spin-polarized electrons to the P2 experiment, with the major goal of achieving a precision measurement of the weak mixing angle via parity-violating electron scattering at a low energy scale. Positioned downstream of P2, the DarkMESA beam dump experiment is dedicated to the search for light dark matter particles.
The main focus of my presentation will be on the multi-purpose MAGIX experiment, which features a windowless gas-jet target as a key component. This target's relatively low density allows MESA to operate in energy-recovery mode, an innovative technique that enables the generation of very high beam intensities, compensating for the low target thickness in terms of luminosity. This setup permits high-precision electron scattering experiments in the low-energy region (E ≤ 105 MeV), where both electrons and low-energy recoil particles, such as protons or alphas, can be detected without traversing thick target material.
The MAGIX physics program encompasses dark sector searches, studies of hadron structure, and investigations of reactions relevant to nuclear astrophysics. Moreover, the experimental conditions are particularly ideal for studying light nuclei as strongly interacting systems. By using different targets such as deuterium or helium, both inclusive and exclusive measurements aim to systematically explore various aspects of low-energy theories, such as chiral effective field theory. Planned experiments include measurements of monopole transition form factors on helium and carbon at very low momentum transfers, deuteron electrodisintegration at forward angles, and exclusive reactions using a helium target.
