The beam and detector of the NA62 experiment at CERN

TLDR

NA62 is a CERN SPS fixed‑target experiment studying rare kaon decays, such as K+→π+ν, to probe new physics by comparing measured branching fractions with precise theoretical predictions. The experiment developed innovative low‑mass tracking techniques to enable precise rare kaon decay measurements. The detector, built between 2009 and 2014, was commissioned in 2014 and operated through 2018, with the beam line and detector components and their early performance from 2014–2015 described.

Abstract

NA62 is a fixed-target experiment at the CERN SPS dedicated to measurements of rare kaon decays. Such measurements, like the branching fraction of the K+ → π+ ν decay, have the potential to bring significant insights into new physics processes when comparison is made with precise theoretical predictions. For this purpose, innovative techniques have been developed, in particular, in the domain of low-mass tracking devices. Detector construction spanned several years from 2009 to 2014. The collaboration started detector commissioning in 2014 and will collect data until the end of 2018. The beam line and detector components are described together with their early performance obtained from 2014 and 2015 data.