Search for low charge particles with the CMS and the milliQan experiments at CERN.

In the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, all electrically
charged particles carry a charge proportional to a third of the electron
charge. However, there is no a priori reason for the charge
associated with an abelian gauge field, here the electromagnetic
interaction, to be quantized. If the SM is the low-energy effective
version of a "theory of everything", there are strong motivations to
look for particles with arbitrary charges lower than the electron
charge. Moreover, such particles could be linked to Dark Matter, nonluminous matter that accounts for 85% of the mass in the universe.
The CMS experiment at CERN is one of the most powerful machines
worldwide to help us answer those questions. With its combination of
a unique silicon tracker system associated to a muon tracker, it offers
an outstanding opportunity to look for a signal of new, low charge
particles using collisions at the LHC. Located in a nearby cavern, the
milliQan detector aims for a complementary sensitivity to new
physics in the form of low charge particles. An involvement in its
construction and development is envisioned.