Towards a New μ→eγ Search with the MEG II Experiment: From Design to Commissioning

Abstract

The MEG experiment represents the state of the art in the search for the Charged Lepton Flavour Violating μ+→e+γ decay. With its first phase of operations at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), MEG set the most stringent upper limit on the BR (μ+→e+γ)≤4.2×10−13 at 90% confidence level, imposing one of the tightest constraints on models predicting LFV-enhancements through new physics beyond the Standard Model. An upgrade of the MEG experiment, MEG II, was designed and it is presently in the commissioning phase, aiming at a sensitivity level of 6×10−14. The MEG II experiment relies on a series of upgrades, which include an improvement of the photon detector resolutions, brand new detectors on the positron side with better acceptance, efficiency and performances and new and optimized trigger and DAQ electronics to exploit a muon beam intensity twice as high as that of MEG (7×107 μ+/s). This paper presents a complete overview of the MEG II experimental apparatus and the current status of the detector commissioning in view of the physics data taking in the upcoming three years.