Next-to-lightest SUSY Particle Research Articles

Signatures of sneutrino dark matter in an extension of the CMSSM

Current data (LHC direct searches, Higgs mass, dark matter-related bounds) severely affect the constrained minimal SUSY standard model (CMSSM) with neutralinos as dark matter candidates. But the evidence for neutrino masses coming from oscillations requires extending the SM with at least right-handed neutrinos with a Dirac mass term. In turn, this implies extending the CMSSM with right-handed sneutrino superpartners, a scenario we dub $\tilde\nu$CMSSM. These additional states constitute alternative dark matter candidates of the superWIMP type, produced via the decay of the long-lived next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP). Here we consider the interesting and likely case where the NLSP is a $\tilde{\tau}$: despite the modest extension with respect to the CMSSM this scenario has the distinctive signatures of heavy, stable charged particles. After taking into account the role played by neutrino mass bounds and the specific cosmological bounds from the big bang nucleosynthesis in selecting the viable parameter space, we discuss the excellent discovery prospects for this model at the future runs of the LHC. We show that it is possible to probe $\tilde{\tau}$ masses up to 600 GeV at the 14 TeV LHC with $\mathcal{L} = 1100$ fb$^{-1}$ when one considers a pair production of staus with two or more hard jets through all SUSY processes. We also show the complementary discovery prospects from a direct $\tilde{\tau}$ pair production, as well as at the new experiment MoEDAL.

Nonstandard Higgs decays in the E6 inspired SUSY models

We consider the exotic decays of the SM-like Higgs state within the E6 inspired supersymmetric (SUSY) models. In these models the lightest SUSY particle (LSP) can be substantially lighter than 1 eV forming hot dark matter in the Universe. The next–to–lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) also tend to be light. We argue that the NLSP with GeV scale mass may lead to the substantial branching ratio of the nonstandard decays of the SM–like Higgs boson into NLSPs.

Exotic Higgs decays in the [formula omitted] inspired SUSY models

We study the decays of the SM-like Higgs state within the E6 inspired supersymmetric (SUSY) models with exact custodial symmetry that forbids tree-level flavor-changing transitions and the most dangerous baryon and lepton number violating operators. In these models there are two states which are absolutely stable and can contribute to the dark matter density. One of them is the lightest SUSY particle (LSP) which is expected to be lighter than 1 eV forming hot dark matter in the Universe. The presence of another stable neutral state allows to account for the observed cold dark matter density. In the considered SUSY models next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) also tend to be light. We argue that the NLSP with GeV scale mass can result in the substantial branching ratio of the nonstandard decays of the lightest Higgs boson.

Determining the mass for an ultralight gravitino at LHC

In supersymmetric (SUSY) models with the gravitino being the lightest SUSY particle (LSP), the SUSY breaking scale (i.e., the gravitino mass) could be determined by measuring the lifetime of the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP). However, for an ultralight gravitino of mass of O(1) eV, which is favored cosmologically, the determination of the SUSY breaking scale, or the gravitino mass, is difficult because the NLSP decay length is too short to be measured directly. Recently we proposed a new determination of the gravitino mass by measuring a branching fraction of two decay modes of sleptons. In this Letter, we investigate the prospects for determining the gravitino mass at LHC. For demonstration we take some explicit gauge-mediation models and show that the gravitino mass can be determined with an accuracy of a few 10% for an integrated luminosity 10–100 fb−1.

Supersymmetry on the Rocks

In R-parity conserving supersymmetric (SUSY) models the lightest SUSY particle (LSP) is stable and a candidate for dark matter. Depending on the coupling and mass of this particle the life time of the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) may be large compared to experimental time scales. In particular, if the NLSP is a charged particle and its decay length is of the order of the Earth's diameter Cherenkov telescopes might observe parallel muon-like tracks of NLSP pairs produced in neutrino-nucleon interactions in the Earth's interior. We have investigated two SUSY scenarios with a long-lived τ̃ NLSP and a gravitino LSP in view of the observability at the IceCube detector.

Searches for Gauge-Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking topologies in $e^+e^-$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies up to $\sqrt{s}=209 \mathrm{GeV}$

Searches were performed for topologies predicted by gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models (GMSB). All possible lifetimes of the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP), either the lightest neutralino or slepton, decaying into the lightest SUSY particle, the gravitino, were considered. No evidence for GMSB signatures was found in the OPAL data sample collected at centre-of-mass energies up to root s = 209 GeV at LEP. Limits on the product of the production cross-sections and branching fractions are presented for all search topologies. To test the impact of the searches, a complete scan over the parameters of the minimal model of GMSB was performed. NLSP masses below 53.5 GeV/c(2) in the neutralino NLSP scenario, below 87.4 GeV/c(2) in the stau NLSP scenario and below 91.9 GeV/c(2) in the slepton co-NLSP scenario are excluded at 95% confidence level for all NLSP lifetimes. The scan determines constraints on the universal SUSY mass scale Lambda from the direct SUSY particle searches of Lambda > 40, 27, 21, 17, 15 TeV/c(2) for messenger indices N = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 for all NLSP lifetimes.

Two Photon Background and the Reach of a Linear Collider for Supersymmetry in WMAP Favoured Coannihilation Regions

A neutralino relic density in accord with WMAP measurements can be found in the minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) model in several regions of parameter space: the stau co-annihilation corridor at low m_0 and the hyperbolic branch/focus point (HB/FP) region at large m_0 at the edges of parameter space, and the bulk and Higgs boson funnel regions within. In the regions at the edge, the mass gap between the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) and the lightest SUSY particle (LSP) becomes small, and backgrounds from $\gamma\gamma\to f\bar{f}$ ($f$ is a SM fermion) become important for NLSP detection at an $e^+e^-$ linear collider. We evaluate these backgrounds from bremsstrahlung and beamstrahlung photons, and demonstrate that these do not preclude the observability of the signal for the cases where either the stau or the chargino is the NLSP. We also delineate the additional portion of the stau coannihilation region, beyond what can be accessed via a search for selectrons and smuons, that can be probed by a search for di-tau-jet events plus missing energy. The reach of a LC for SUSY in the HB/FP region is shown for an updated value of $m_t\simeq 180$ GeV as recently measured by the $D\O$ experiment.

Measuring the SUSY breaking scale at the LHC in the slepton NLSP scenario of GMSB models

We report a study on the measurement of the SUSY breaking scale sqrt(F) in the framework of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) models at the LHC. The work is focused on the GMSB scenario where a stau is the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) and decays into a gravitino with lifetime c*tau_NLSP in the range 0.5 m to 1 km. We study the identification of long-lived sleptons using the momentum and time of flight measurements in the muon chambers of the ATLAS experiment. A realistic evaluation of the statistical and systematic uncertainties on the measurement of the slepton mass and lifetime is performed, based on a detailed simulation of the detector response. Accessible range and precision on sqrt(F) achievable with a counting method are assessed. Many features of our analysis can be extended to the study of different theoretical frameworks with similar signatures at the LHC.

Measuring gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking parameters at a 500 GeV $e^+e^-$ linear collider

We consider the phenomenology of a class of gauge-mediated supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking (GMSB) models at a e+e- Linear Collider (LC) with c.o.m. energy up to 500 GeV. In particular, we refer to a high-luminosity (L ~ 3 x 10^34 cm^-2 s^-1) machine, and use detailed simulation tools for a proposed detector. Among the GMSB-model building options, we define a simple framework and outline its predictions at the LC, under the assumption that no SUSY signal is detected at LEP or Tevatron. Our focus is on the case where a neutralino (N1) is the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP), for which we determine the relevant regions of the GMSB parameter space. Many observables are calculated and discussed, including production cross sections, NLSP decay widths, branching ratios and distributions, for dominant and rare channels. We sketch how to extract the messenger and electroweak scale model parameters from a spectrum measured via, e.g. threshold-scanning techniques. Several experimental methods to measure the NLSP mass and lifetime are proposed and simulated in detail. We show that these methods can cover most of the lifetime range allowed by perturbativity requirements and suggested by cosmology in GMSB models. Also, they are relevant for any general low-energy SUSY breaking scenario. Values of c*tau_N1 as short as 10's of microns and as long as 10's of metres can be measured with errors at the level of 10% or better after one year of LC running with high luminosity. We discuss how to determine a narrow range (<~ 5%) for the fundamental SUSY breaking scale sqrt(F), based on the measured m_N1, c*tau_N1. Finally, we suggest how to optimise the LC detector performance for this purpose.