Abstract
A search for dark matter in the form of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) using the CMS detector at the LHC is presented. The SIMPs would be produced in pairs that manifest themselves as pairs of jets without tracks. The energy fraction of jets carried by charged particles is used as a key discriminator to suppress efficiently the large multijet background, and the remaining background is estimated directly from data. The search is performed using proton–proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 16.1,text {fb}^{-1}, collected with the CMS detector in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. For the simplified dark matter model under consideration, SIMPs with masses up to 100,text {GeV} are excluded and further sensitivity is explored towards higher masses.
Highlights
A major thrust of the experimental programme at the CERN LHC is the search for physics beyond the standard model
We search for the pair production of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs), and experimentally select the resulting trackless jets using the energy fractions of these jets carried by charged particles (ChF) as a highly effective discriminating observable to suppress the huge quantum chromodynamics (QCD) multijet background
The signal region used to determine the final results is defined by ChF < 0.05. This rejects most of the QCD background, while avoiding tighter ChF requirements, where the generator-level information used in the closure tests starts to yield large statistical uncertainties, and where higher-order contributions from mediator radiation off the SIMPs could become nonnegligible
Summary
A major thrust of the experimental programme at the CERN LHC is the search for physics beyond the standard model In this context, strong emphasis has been placed on the search for dark matter (DM), the nature of which is one of the central questions in particle physics. A scenario with fermionic, asymmetric DM, where no dark antimatter remains, must be considered to avoid excessive Earth heating and neutron star collapse [4] For this search, we assume that the SIMPs are produced in pairs via an s-channel exchange of a new scalar mediator that is coupled to quarks. We search for the pair production of SIMPs, and experimentally select the resulting trackless jets using the energy fractions of these jets carried by charged particles (ChF) as a highly effective discriminating observable to suppress the huge QCD multijet background.
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