https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12599-8
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
VIP-2 with modulated current: pathfinder for enhanced Pauli exclusion principle violation studies
1
Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Via Enrico Fermi 54, 00044, Frascati, Italy
2
Centro Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “Enrico Fermi”, Via Panisperna 89 A, 00184, Rome, Italy
3
Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, ul. prof. Stanisława Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348, Kraków, Poland
4
Physics Department, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
5
IFIN-HH, Institutul National pentru Fizica si Inginerie Nucleara Horia Hulubei, 30 Reactorului, 077125, Măgurele, Romania
6
Stefan-Meyer-Institute for Subatomic Physics, Austrian Academy of Science, Wiesingerstraße 4, 1010, Wien, Austria
7
Excellence Cluster Universe, Technische Universität München, Arcisstraße 21, 80333, Münich, Germany
8
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Via G. Acitelli 22, 67100, Assergi, Italy
9
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, 00133, Rome, Italy
a
alessio.porcelli@lnf.infn.it
Received:
9
January
2024
Accepted:
22
February
2024
Published online:
1
March
2024
Fermions are subject to the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP), which is grounded on the spin-statistics theorem and, hence, related to the very same structure of the underlying symmetries. The VIP-2 (VIolation of Pauli exclusion principle - 2) experiment has been performing extreme sensitivity tests of the PEP, up to its current and final configuration, exploiting several experimental setups designed to study different theoretical models of PEP violation, looking for a faint signal of physics Beyond the Standard Model.A current is introduced in the copper target to bring new electrons into the system and, hence, fulfill the requirements of the Messiah-Greenberg Super-Selection rule. The searched spin-statistics violating signal corresponds to X-rays emitted when the new electrons perform atomic transitions to the already filled fundamental level of copper. This work analyzes the set of the VIP-2 data corresponding to a test run of 68 days in a current modulated regime alternating no current with current data-taking in short periods (50 s each), instead the usual alternating months-long data-taking of each of these two phases. We propose an analysis method to improve the experiment’s sensitivity: a spectral analysis constraint with the Discrete Fourier Transformation of the data. Compared to the spectrum-only analysis, about a factor of 1.5 of improvement to the limit for the probability of PEP violation for electrons was obtained.
© The Author(s) 2024
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