Enhancing Long-Lived Particles Searches at the LHC with Precision Timing Information.

Jia Liu,Zhen Liu,Lian-Tao Wang

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.122.131801

Jia Liu, Zhen Liu + Show 1 more

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We explore the physics potential of using precision timing information at the LHC in searches for long-lived particles (LLPs). In comparison with the light standard model particles, the decay products of massive LLPs arrive at detectors with time delays around the nanosecond scale. We propose new strategies to take advantage of this time delay feature by using initial state radiation to time stamp the collision event and require at least one LLP to decay within the detector. This search strategy is effective for a broad range of models. In addition to outlining this general approach, we demonstrate its effectiveness with the projected reach for two benchmark scenarios: a Higgs boson decaying into a pair of LLPs, and pair production of long-lived neutralinos in the gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking models. Our strategy increases the sensitivity to the lifetime of the LLP by two orders of magnitude or more and particularly exhibits a better behavior with a linear dependence on the lifetime in the large lifetime region compared to traditional LLP searches. The timing information significantly reduces the standard model background and provides a powerful new dimension for LLP searches.

Highlights

The presence of long-lived particles (LLPs) can be a striking feature of many new physics models [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
In this Letter, we focus on a general strategy that uses precision timing as a tool to suppress standard model (SM) backgrounds and enhances sensitivity to LLPs at the LHC
In this Letter, as a strategy applicable to a broad range of models, we propose the use of a generic initial state radiation (ISR) jet to time stamp the hard collision and require only a single LLP decay inside the detector with a significant time delay

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Introduction

The presence of long-lived particles (LLPs) can be a striking feature of many new physics models [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. In this Letter, we focus on a general strategy that uses precision timing as a tool to suppress SM backgrounds and enhances sensitivity to LLPs at the LHC.

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