Searches for the light invisible axion-like particle in $$K^{+} \rightarrow \pi ^{+}\pi ^{0} a$$ K + → π + π 0 a decay

Abstract

Abstract A high-statistics data sample of the $$K^{+}$$ K + decays is recorded by the OKA collaboration. A missing mass analysis is performed to search for a light invisible pseudoscalar axion-like particle (ALP) a in the decay $$K^{+} \rightarrow \pi ^{+} \pi ^{0} a$$ K + → π + π 0 a . No signal is observed, and the upper limits for the branching ratio of the decay are calculated. The $$90\%$$ 90 % confidence level upper limit changes from $$2.5\cdot 10^{-6}$$ 2.5 · 10 - 6 to $$2\cdot 10^{-7}$$ 2 · 10 - 7 for the ALP mass from 0 to 200 MeV/ $$c^{2}$$ c 2 , except for the region of $$\pi ^{0}$$ π 0 mass, where the upper limit is $$4.4\cdot 10^{-6}$$ 4.4 · 10 - 6 .