https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09314-2
Letter
Searching for axionlike particles with low masses in pPb and PbPb collisions
1
Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Caixa Postal 354, CEP 96010-090, Pelotas, RS, Brazil
2
Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Caixa Postal 68528, CEP 21941-972, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Received:
7
March
2021
Accepted:
7
June
2021
Published online:
19
June
2021
The production of axionlike particles (ALPs) with small masses in ultraperipheral Pb–p and Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC is investigated. The cross section and kinematical distributions associated to the diphoton final state produced in the 
subprocesses are estimated considering a realistic set of kinematical cuts. A detailed analysis of the backgrounds is performed and the expected sensitivity to the ALP production is derived. Our results demonstrate that a future experimental analysis of the exclusive diphoton production for the forward rapidities probed by the LHCb detector can improve the existing exclusion limits on the ALP–photon coupling in the mass range 2 GeV 
5 GeV.
© The Author(s) 2021
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Funded by SCOAP3
