Displaced Vertex Research Articles

Minimal vectorlike leptonic dark matter and signatures at the LHC

We propose a minimal vector-like leptonic dark matter (DM) with renormalisable interaction in a beyond the Standard Model (SM) scenario, where the SM is augmented with a vector-like doublet and a singlet leptons. The additional fermions are odd under a discrete $Z_2$ symmetry, while the rest of the SM particles are singlets, and thus providing stability to the DM. In this scenario, we show that, the DM emerges as an admixture of the neutral component of the vector-like doublet and the singlet leptons. The singlet-doublet mixing ($\sin \theta$) plays a crucial role in yielding the correct relic density as well as in obtaining null direct DM search results through an interplay of interactions via $Z$ and Higgs mediation. The mixing is also strongly constrained from the invisible Z and Higgs decay width. We found that the correct relic abundance of DM can be obtained in a large region of parameter space for DM-mass larger than $ M_Z/2$ and $\sin \theta \le 0.1$. The details of model phenomenology with collider signatures at the Large hadron Collider (LHC) are discussed. In particular, we show that for $\sin \theta \le 0.01$, the charged companion of the DM can give rise to an observable displaced vertex signature, marking a significant departure from other fermionic DM scenarios, while keeping the relic abundance intact.

Searches for long-lived particles, lepton-jets, stable and meta-stable particles with the ATLAS detector

Several proposed extensions to the Standard Model, such as certain supersymmetric scenarios, predict new phenomena such as long-lived particles and sectors of hidden particles. Long-lived particles can lead to a wide variety of detector signatures depending on the nature of the particle and the decay length, such signatures include: displaced vertices; disappearing tracks; massive particle tracks; and jet production outside of collision event windows. Hidden sectors may additionally lead to the production of collimated jets of leptons. Recent searches for such signatures at ATLAS are presented here. There have been six analyses performed using 8 TeV data, four 7 TeV data analyses are also included for completeness. No evidence of any new physics is observed in any analysis, all use their results to set limits on supersymmetric or hidden valley models.

Exotic quarks in Twin Higgs models

The Twin Higgs model provides a natural theory for the electroweak symmetry breaking without the need of new particles carrying the standard model gauge charges below a few TeV. In the low energy theory, the only probe comes from the mixing of the Higgs fields in the standard model and twin sectors. However, an ultraviolet completion is required below ~ 10 TeV to remove residual logarithmic divergences. In non-supersymmetric completions, new exotic fermions charged under both the standard model and twin gauge symmetries have to be present to accompany the top quark, thus providing a high energy probe of the model. Some of them carry standard model color, and may therefore be copiously produced at current or future hadron colliders. Once produced, these exotic quarks can decay into a top together with twin sector particles. If the twin sector particles escape the detection, we have the irreducible stop-like signals. On the other hand, some twin sector particles may decay back into the standard model particles with long lifetimes, giving spectacular displaced vertex signals in combination with the prompt top quarks. This happens in the Fraternal Twin Higgs scenario with typical parameters, and sometimes is even necessary for cosmological reasons. We study the potential displaced vertex signals from the decays of the twin bottomonia, twin glueballs, and twin leptons in the Fraternal Twin Higgs scenario. Depending on the details of the twin sector, the exotic quarks may be probed up to ~ 2.5 TeV at the LHC and beyond 10 TeV at a future 100 TeV collider, providing a strong test of this class of ultraviolet completions.

Search for mirror quarks at the LHC

Observation of non-zero neutrino masses at a scale $\sim 10^{-1} - 10^{-2}$ eV is a major problem in the otherwise highly successful Standard Model. The most elegant mechanism to explain such tiny neutrino masses is the seesaw mechanism with right handed neutrinos. However, the required seesaw scale is so high, $\sim 10^{14}$ GeV, it will not have any collider implications. Recently, an explicit model has been constructed to realize the seesaw mechanism with the right handed neutrinos at the electroweak scale. The model has a mirror symmetry having both the left and right lepton and quark doublets and singlets for the same $SU(2)_W $ gauge symmetry. Additional Higgs multiplets have been introduced to realize this scenario. It turns out that these extra Higgs fields also help to satisfy the precision electroweak tests, and other observables. Because the scale of the symmetry breaking is electroweak, both the mirror quark and mirror leptons have masses in the electroweak scale in the range $ \sim 150 - 800 $ GeV. The mirror quarks / leptons decay to ordinary quarks /leptons plus very light neutral scalars. In this work, we calculate the final state signals arising from the pair productions of these mirror quarks and their subsequent decays. We find that these signals are well observable over the Standard Model background for $13$ TeV LHC. Depending on the associated Yukawa couplings, these decays can also give rise displaced vertices with long decay length, very different from the usual displaced vertices associated with b decays.

Large invisible decay of a Higgs boson to neutrinos

We show that the standard model (SM)-like Higgs boson may decay into neutrinos with a sizable decay branching ratio in one well-known two Higgs doublet model, so-called neutrinophilic Higgs model. This could happen if the mass of the lighter extra neutral Higgs boson is smaller than one half of the SM-like Higgs boson mass. The definite prediction of this scenario is that the rate of the SM-like Higgs boson decay into diphoton normalized by the SM value is about 0.9. In the case that a neutrino is Majorana particle, a displaced vertex of right-handed neutrino decay would be additionally observed. This example indicates that a large invisible Higgs boson decay could be irrelevant to dark matter.

Light sparticles from a light singlet in gauge mediation

We revisit a simple model that combines minimal gauge mediation and the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model. We show that one can obtain a 125 GeV Standard Model-like Higgs boson with stops as light as 1.1 TeV, thanks to the mixing of the Higgs with a singlet state at O(90-100) GeV. Sparticle searches at the LHC may come with additional b-jets or taus and may involve displaced vertices. The sparticle production cross-section at the 13 TeV LHC can be O(10-100) fb, leading to great prospects for discovery in the early phase of LHC Run II.

Search for long-lived particles decaying to jet pairs.

A search is presented for long-lived particles with a mass between 25 and 50 mathrm{GeV}/mathrm{c}^{2} and a lifetime between 1 and 200mathrm{,ps} in a sample of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt{s}=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.62 text{ fb }^{-1}, collected by the LHCb detector. The particles are assumed to be pair-produced by the decay of a standard model-like Higgs boson. The experimental signature of the long-lived particle is a displaced vertex with two associated jets. No excess above the background is observed and limits are set on the production cross-section as a function of the long-lived particle mass and lifetime.

Probing baryogenesis with displaced vertices at the LHC

The generation of the asymmetric cosmic baryon abundance requires a departure from thermal equilibrium in the early universe. In a large class of baryogenesis models, the baryon asymmetry results from the out-of-equilibrium decay of a new, massive particle. We highlight that in the interesting scenario where this particle has a weak scale mass, this out-of-equilibrium condition requires a proper decay length larger than O(1) mm. Such new fields are within reach of the LHC, at which they can be pair produced leaving a distinctive, displaced-vertex signature. This scenario is realized in the recently proposed mechanism of baryogenesis where the baryon asymmetry is produced through the freeze-out and subsequent decay of a meta-stable weakly interacting massive particle (“WIMP baryogenesis”). In analogy to missing energy searches for WIMP dark matter, the LHC is an excellent probe of these new long-lived particles responsible for baryogenesis via the low-background displaced vertex channel. In our paper, we estimate the limits on simplified models inspired by WIMP baryogenesis from two of the most sensitive collider searches by CMS and ATLAS with 8 TeV LHC data. We also estimate the LHC reach at 13 TeV using current strategies, and demonstrate that up to a factor of 100 improvement in cross-section limits can be achieved by requiring two displaced vertices while lowering kinematic thresholds. For meta-stable WIMPs produced through electroweak interactions, the high luminosity LHC is sensitive to masses up to 2.5 TeV for lifetimes around 1 cm, while for singlets pair-produced through the off-shell-Higgs portal, the LHC is sensitive to production cross sections of O(10) ab for benchmark masses around 150 GeV. Our analysis and proposals also generally apply to displaced vertex signatures from other new physics such as hidden valley models, twin Higgs models and displaced supersymmetry.

Heavy neutrino searches at the LHC with displaced vertices

Sterile neutrinos with masses in the range (1-100) GeV, have been searched for in a variety of experiments. Here, we discuss the prospects to search for sterile neutrinos at the LHC using displaced vertices. Two different cases are discussed: (i) the standard model extended with sterile neutrinos and (ii) right-handed neutrinos in a left-right symmetric extension of the standard model. A dedicated displaced vertex search will allow to probe parts of the parameter space not accessible to other searches, but will require large luminosity in both cases.

Displaced vertices fromR-parity violation and baryogenesis

The LHC has placed stringent limits on superpartner masses, in conflict with naturalness. R-parity violation is one of the few scenarios that allows reduction of these limits and is thus worth significant exploration at the LHC. We demonstrate that if the R-parity violating operator UDD is used, we generically expect all SUSY events at the LHC to have displaced vertices. If a squark is the LSP, it will have a short displaced vertex. If any other particle is the LSP, the displaced vertex is naturally expected to be quite long, possibly even outside the detectors. These scenarios are already constrained by existing searches for missing energy. This arises because this operator efficiently washes-out the baryon asymmetry in the early universe, unless the squarks are heavy and the coupling is small. Avoiding displaced vertices is possible, but requires baryogenesis below the weak scale. Thus, for example, the use of sphalerons in baryogenesis does not avoid the requirement of displaced vertices. This motivates searching for hadronic displaced vertices at the LHC with decay lengths anywhere from tens of microns to meters.

Physics performance studies for the ALICE inner tracker upgrade

During the second long shutdown of the LHC in 2018, the ALICE Collaboration plans to install an upgrade of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS) in the central barrel with seven layers of silicon detectors starting at 2.2 cm radial distance from the interaction region and a material budget as low as 0.3 % radiation length per layer. A single-hit resolution of 4 μm and a readout rate capability of up to 50 kHz in Pb–Pb collisions will allow new and unique measurements in the heavy-quark sector, i.e. charm and beauty. Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations of pp and Pb–Pb collisions we study the performance for heavy-flavor detection with an upgraded ITS in the following benchmark analyses: Charm meson and baryon production, i.e. D0 → K−π+ and Λ+c → pK−p+, and beauty meson and baryon production, i.e. displaced vertices of B+ → D̄0π+ and Λb → Λ+cπ−.

Probing theμ-from-νsupersymmetric standard model with displaced multileptons from the decay of a Higgs boson at the LHC

The "$\mu$ from $\nu$" supersymmetric standard model ($\mu\nu$SSM) cures the $\mu$-problem and concurrently reproduces measured neutrino data by using a set of usual right-handed neutrino superfields. Recently, the LHC has revealed the first scalar boson which naturally makes it tempting to test $\mu\nu$SSM in the light of this new discovery. We show that this new scalar while decaying to a pair of unstable long-lived neutralinos, can lead to a distinct signal with non-prompt multileptons. With concomitant collider analysis we show that this signal provides an unmistakable signature of the model, pronounced with light neutralinos. Evidence of this signal is well envisaged with sophisticated displaced vertex analysis, which deserves experimental attention.

B-jet Identification in PbPb Collisions with CMS

The flavor dependence of jet quenching is a powerful handle to discriminate between models of parton energy loss in heavy-ion collisions. We demonstrate the capacity of CMS to identify jets initiated by bottom quarks using displaced vertices reconstructed in the silicon tracking system. The b-jet to inclusive jet ratio is measured in PbPb collisions and compared to pp collisions and simulations at the same center-of-mass energy.

Search for long-lived, heavy particles in final states with a muon and multi-track displaced vertex in proton–proton collisions at [formula omitted] with the ATLAS detector

Many extensions of the Standard Model posit the existence of heavy particles with long lifetimes. In this Letter, results are presented of a search for events containing one or more such particles, which decay at a significant distance from their production point, using a final state containing charged hadrons and an associated muon. This analysis uses a data sample of proton–proton collisions at s=7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb−1 collected in 2011 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Results are interpreted in the context of R-parity violating supersymmetric scenarios. No events in the signal region are observed and limits are set on the production cross section for pair production of supersymmetric particles, multiplied by the square of the branching fraction for a neutralino to decay to charged hadrons and a muon, based on the scenario where both of the produced supersymmetric particles give rise to neutralinos that decay in this way. However, since the search strategy is based on triggering on and reconstructing the decay products of individual long-lived particles, irrespective of the rest of the event, these limits can easily be reinterpreted in scenarios with different numbers of long-lived particles per event. The limits are presented as a function of neutralino lifetime, and for a range of squark and neutralino masses.

Displaced Supersymmetry

The apparent absence of light superpartners at the LHC strongly constrains the viability of the MSSM as a solution to the hierarchy problem. These constraints can be significantly alleviated by R-parity violation (RPV). Bilinear R-parity violation, with the single operator LH u , does not require any special flavor structure and can be naturally embedded in a GUT while avoiding constraints from proton decay (unlike baryon-number-violating RPV). The LSP in this scenario can be naturally long-lived, giving rise to displaced vertices. Many collider searches, particularly those selecting b-jets or leptons, are insensitive to events with such detector-scale displaced decays owing to cuts on track quality and impact parameter. We demonstrate that for decay lengths in the window ∼1–103 mm, constraints on superpartner masses can be as low as ∼450 GeV for squarks and ∼40 GeV for LSPs. In some parts of parameter space light LSPs can dominate the Higgs decay width, hiding the Higgs from existing searches. This framework motivates collider searches for detector-scale displaced vertices. LHCb may be ideally suited to trigger on such events, while ATLAS and CMS may need to trigger on missing energy or multijet signatures.

Unusual Higgs boson signal inR-parity violating nonminimal supersymmetric models at the LHC

We predict an unconventional background free signal of the Higgs boson in $R$-parity violating nonminimal supersymmetric models at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The signal comprises a dilepton plus four hadronic jets and two large displaced vertices. The displaced leptons and jets are coming from the decay of the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), which is predominantly a gauge-singlet neutrino. A pair of such LSPs can couple to a Higgs boson, created via gluon fusion. We have analyzed two cases--one corresponding to the tree-level Higgs boson mass and another with the one-loop corrected mass of the Higgs boson. A reliable Higgs mass reconstruction using this signal can lead to discovery at the LHC with center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=14\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{TeV}$ and $5\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ of integrated luminosity $(\mathcal{L})$. Even at $\sqrt{s}=7\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{TeV}$ and $\mathcal{L}=5\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, a reasonable number of events are expected. Besides, mass reconstruction of a gauge-singlet LSP can provide an estimate of the seesaw scale.

Measurement of the cross-section for b-jets produced in association with a Z boson at [formula omitted] with the ATLAS detector

A measurement is presented of the inclusive cross-section for b-jet production in association with a Z boson in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s=7 TeV. The analysis uses the data sample collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 36 pb−1. The event selection requires a Z boson decaying into high pT electrons or muons, and at least one b-jet, identified by its displaced vertex, with transverse momentum pT>25 GeV and rapidity |y|<2.1. After subtraction of background processes, the yield is extracted from the vertex mass distribution of the candidate b-jets. The ratio of this cross-section to the inclusive Z cross-section (the average number of b-jets per Z event) is also measured. Both results are found to be in good agreement with perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order.

Long-lived charged Higgs at LHC as a probe of scalar dark matter

We study inert charged Higgs boson $H^\pm$ production and decays at LHC experiments in the context of constrained scalar dark matter model (CSDMM). In the CSDMM the inert doublet and singlet scalar's mass spectrum is predicted from the GUT scale initial conditions via RGE evolution. We compute the cross sections of processes $pp\to H^+H^-,\, H^\pm S_i^0$ at the LHC and show that for light $H^\pm$ the first one is dominated by top quark mediated 1-loop diagram with Higgs boson in s-channel. In a significant fraction of the parameter space $H^\pm$ are long-lived because their decays to predominantly singlet scalar dark matter (DM) and next-to-lightest (NL) scalar, $H^\pm\to S_{\text{DM, NL}} ff',$ are suppressed by the small singlet-doublet mixing angle and by the moderate mass difference $ \Delta M=M_{H^+}-M_{\text{DM}} .$ The experimentally measurable displaced vertex in $H^\pm$ decays to leptons and/or jets and missing energy allows one to discover the $H^+H^-$ signal over the huge $W^+W^-$ background. We propose benchmark points for studies of this scenario at the LHC. If, however, $H^\pm$ are short-lived, the subsequent decays $S_{\text{NL}}\to S_{\text{DM}} f\bar f$ necessarily produce additional displaced vertices that allow to reconstruct the full $H^\pm$ decay chain.

Updated search for the flavor-changing neutral-current decayD0→μ+μ−inpp¯collisions ats=1.96TeV

We report on a search for the flavor-changing neutral-current decay D0 \to {\mu}+ {\mu}- in pp collisions at \surd s = 1.96 TeV using 360 pb-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. A displaced vertex trigger selects long-lived D0 candidates in the {\mu}+ {\mu}-, {\pi}+{\pi}-, and K-{\pi}+ decay modes. We use the Cabibbo-favored D0 \to K-{\pi}+ channel to optimize the selection criteria in an unbiased manner, and the kinematically similar D0 \to{\pi}+ {\pi}- channel for normalization. We set an upper limit on the branching fraction (D0 --> {\mu}+ {\mu}-) < 2.1 E-7 (3.0 E-7) at the 90% (95%) confidence level.

Pseudo-Dirac Dark Matter Leaves a Trace

Pseudo-Dirac dark matter is a viable type of dark matter which originates from a new Dirac fermion whose two Weyl states get slightly split in mass by a small Majorana term. The decay of the heavier to the lighter state naturally occurs over a detectable length scale. Thus, whenever pseudo-Dirac dark matter is produced in a collider, it leaves a clear trace: a visible displaced vertex in association with missing energy. Moreover, pseudo-Dirac dark matter behaves Dirac-like for relic abundance and Majorana-like in direct detection experiments. We provide a general effective field theory treatment, specializing to a pseudo-Dirac bino. The dark matter mass and the mass splitting can be extracted from measurements of the decay length and the invariant mass of the products, even in the presence of missing energy.