Searching for New Physics with the DUNE Near Detector

In this talk, I will present the potential of the DUNE near detector to probe light new physics. To illustrate this, I will use axion-like particles (ALPs) as a representative example.

ALPs appear in many beyond-the-Standard-Model frameworks, either as dark matter candidates or as partners of the axion that solves the strong CP problem.

Using the liquid-argon near detector (LAr), I will show how currently unconstrained regions of parameter space in the ALP mass and coupling can be explored. I will also discuss the prospects of a gaseous-argon (GAr) detector, which is not planned for Phase-I DUNE but would be a valuable addition in the future, offering an essentially background-free environment for light-new-physics searches. Finally, I will highlight how running a DUNE like setup in beam dump mode, where the target is removed and the proton beam is sent directly to the dump, can probe unexplored ALP parameter space with only about three months of exposure.