Abstract:

Studies of rare decays of kaons have been important in establishing the current picture of particle physics and in constraining hypothetical new approaches which go beyond the Standard Model to deal with its known deficiencies. Experimental capabilities have increased in concert with theoretical understanding making this approach to searching for new physics more viable than ever and essential, even in the era of the LHC. In this talk, I will discuss the most interesting and incisive rare kaon decays, the "golden" ultra-rare reactions . In particular, the newly proposed ORKA experiment at Fermilab aimed at 1000 event sensitivity for offers the prospect of a major advance in the near term. Future opportunities at high intensity proton accelerators will also be discussed.