The SHADOWS calorimeter : a pointing calorimeter for future beam dump experiments

Abstract

This contribution presents advancements in the design and testing of an electromagnetic calorimeter intended for the detection of feebly interacting particles in future beam dump experiments. The calorimeter is designed to accurately reconstruct particle decays into photons, focusing on achieving precise energy and direction measurements. We propose a plastic scintillator-based calorimeter capable of providing the necessary resolution for these measurements. The pointing capability has been validated through GEANT4 simulations, optimizing scintillator granularity for effective shower direction reconstruction. Additionally, we detail the prototyping efforts and the first results of test beam measurements conducted at DESY.