SUSY Models Research Articles

Dark matter annihilation decay at the LHC

Collider experiments provide an opportunity to shed light on dark matter (DM) self-interactions. In this work, we study the possibility of generating DM bound states -- the Darkonium -- at the LHC and discuss how the annihilation decay of the Darkonium produces force carriers. We focus on two popular scenarios that contain large DM self-couplings: the Higgsinos in the $\lambda$-SUSY model, and self-interacting DM (SIDM) framework. After forming bound states, the DM particles annihilate into force mediators, which decay into the standard model particles either through a prompt or displaced process. This generates interesting signals for the heavy resonance search. We calculate the production rate of bound states and study the projected future constraints from the existing heavy resonance searches.

Upper bounds on sparticle masses from naturalness or how to disprove weak scale supersymmetry

While it is often stated that the notion of electroweak (EW) naturalness in supersymmetric models is subjective, fuzzy and model-dependent, here we argue the contrary: electroweak naturalness can be elevated to a {\it principle} which is both objective and predictive. We demonstrate visually when too much fine-tuning sets in at the electroweak scale which corresponds numerically to the measure \Delta_{BG}~\Delta_{EW}> 30. While many constrained SUSY models are already excluded by this value, we derive updated upper bounds on sparticle masses within the two-extra parameter non-universal Higgs model (NUHM2). We confirm the classic Barbieri-Giudice (BG) result that \Delta_{BG}<30 implies mu <350 GeV. However, by combining dependent soft terms which appear as multiples of m_{3/2} in supergravity models, then we obtain m(gluino)< 4 TeV as opposed to the BG result that m(gluino)<350 GeV. We compare the NUHM2 results to a similar scan in the pMSSM with 19 weak scale parameters. In the pMSSM with complete one-loop scalar potential plus dominant two-loop terms, then a m(gluino)<7 TeV bound is found. Our tabulation of upper bounds provides a target for experimenters seeking to discover or else falsify the existence of weak scale supersymmetry. In an Appendix, we show contributions to the naturalness measure from one-loop contributions to the weak scale scalar potential.

Mono-jet, -photon and -Z signals of a supersymmetric (B − L) model at the Large Hadron Collider

Search for invisible final states produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by new physics scenarios are normally carried out resorting to a variety of probes emerging from the initial state, in the form of single-jet, -photon and -$Z$ boson signatures. These are particularly effective for models of Supersymmetry (SUSY) in presence of $R$-parity conservation, owing to the presence in their spectra of a stable neutralino as dark matter candidate. We assume here as theoretical framework Supersymmetric ($B-L$) extension of the Standard Model (BLSSM), wherein a mediator for invisible decays can be $Z'$ boson. The peculiarity of the signal is thus that the final state objects carry a very large (transverse) missing energy, since the $Z'$ is naturally massive and constrained by direct searches and electro-weak precision tests to be at least in TeV scale region. Under these circumstances the efficiency in accessing the invisible final state and rejecting the standard model background is very high. This somehow compensates the rather meagre production rates. Another special feature of this invisible BLSSM signal is its composition, which is often dominated by sneutrino decays (alongside the more traditional neutrino and neutralino modes). Sensitivity of the CERN machine to these two features can therefore help disentangling the BLSSM from more popular SUSY models. We assess in this analysis the scope of the LHC in establishing the aforementioned invisible signals through a sophisticated signal-to-background simulation carried out in presence of parton shower, hadronisation and detector effects. We find that significant sensitivity exists already after 300 fb$^{-1}$ during Run 2. We find that mono-jet events can be readily accessible at the LHC, so as to enable one to claim a prompt discovery, while mono-photon and -$Z$ signals can be used as diagnostic tools of the underlying scenario.

Searches for electroweak production of supersymmetric gauginos and sleptons with the ATLAS detector

Results from the searches for electroweak production of gauginos or sleptons decaying into leptonic final states performed using 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at √S = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. No significant excesses are observed with respect to the prediction from Standard Model processes. Limits are set on a wide range of SUSY models.

Strong Sector in non-minimal SUSY model

We investigate the squark sector of a supersymmetric theory with an extended Higgs sector. We give the mass matrices of stop and sbottom, comparing the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) case and the non-minimal case. We discuss the impact of the extra superfields on the decay channels of the stop searched at the LHC.

Comparative analysis of theΛb→Λℓ+ℓ−decay in the SM, SUSY, and RS model with custodial protection

We comparatively analyze the rare $\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda \ell^+ \ell^-$ channel in standard model, supersymmetry and Randall-Sundrum model with custodial protection (RS$_c$). Using the parametrization of the matrix elements entering the low energy effective Hamiltonian in terms of form factors, we calculate the corresponding differential decay width and lepton forward-backward asymmetry in these models. We compare the results obtained with the most recent data from LHCb as well as lattice QCD results on the considered quantities. It is obtained that the standard model, with the form factors calculated in light-cone QCD sum rules, can not reproduce some experimental data on the physical quantities under consideration but the supersymmetry can do it. The RS$_c$ model predictions are roughly the same as the standard model and there are no considerable differences between the predictions of these two models. In the case of differential decay rate, the data in the range $4 $ GeV$^2/$c$^4\leq$ $q^2 \leq 6$ GeV$^2/$c$^4$ can not be described by any of the considered models.

Same-sign Higgsino production at the CERN LHC: How not to hunt for natural supersymmetry

We examine the prospects for detecting light charged higgsinos that are expected to be a necessary feature of natural SUSY models via $pp\to {\widetilde W}^\pm{\widetilde W}_1^\pm jj+X$ processes arising dominantly from $W^\pm W^\pm$ fusion at LHC13. The signal will be a pair of same-sign leptons ($e$ or $\mu$) in events with two relatively forward, hemispherically-separated jets with a large rapidity gap. We find that even though the higgsinos have a full-strength $SU(2)$ gauge couplings to $W$-bosons, the LHC13 cross section for the production of same sign higgsino pairs is smaller than 0.02 fb over most of the interesting range of natural SUSY parameters, even before leptonic branching fractions of the chargino are included. This cross section is strongly suppressed because the two neutral Majorana higgsinos can be combined into a single Dirac neutralino if the bino and the winos are much heavier than the higgsinos, as is the case in natural SUSY models: in this limit, higgsino couplings to $W$-bosons exhibit an emergent (approximate) $U(1)_{\rm ino}$ global symmetry that suppresses same sign higgsino production by vector boson fusion. We conclude that this channel is not a viable way to search for natural SUSY even at the high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider.

LHC constraints on gravitino dark matter

Gravitino dark matter (DM) represents a compelling scenario in supersymmetry (SUSY), which brings together a variety of data from cosmology and collider physics. We discuss the constraints obtained from the LHC on supersymmetric models with gravitino dark matter and the neutralino next-to-lightest SUSY particle, which is the case most difficult to disentangle at colliders from a neutralino lightest SUSY particle forming DM. The phenomenological SUSY model with $19+1$ free parameters is adopted. Results are obtained from broad scans of the phase space of these uncorrelated parameters. The relation between gravitino mass, gluino mass and reheating temperature as well as the derived constraints on these parameters are discussed in detail. This relation offers a unique opportunity to place stringent bounds on the cosmological model, within the gravitino dark matter scenario, from the results of the LHC searches in run-2 and the planned high-luminosity upgrade.

A 125 GeV fat Higgs at large tan β

We study the viability of regions of large $\tan \beta$ within the framework of Fat Higgs/$\lambda$-SUSY Models. We compute the one-loop effective potential to find the corrections to the Higgs boson mass due to the heavy non-standard Higgs bosons. As the tree level contribution to the Higgs boson mass is suppressed at large $\tan \beta$, these one-loop corrections are crucial to raising the Higgs boson mass to the measured LHC value. By raising the Higgsino and singlino mass parameters, typical electroweak precision constraints can also be avoided. We illustrate these new regions of Fat Higgs/$\lambda$-SUSY parameter space by finding regions of large $\tan \beta$ that are consistent with all experimental constraints including direct dark matter detection experiments, relic density limits and the invisible decay width of the $Z$ boson. We find that there exist regions around $\lambda = 1.25, \tan \beta = 50$ and a uniform psuedo-scalar $4~{\rm TeV} \lsim M_A \lsim 8$~TeV which are consistent will all present phenomenological constraints. In this region the dark matter relic abundance and direct detection limits are satisfied by a lightest neutralino that is mostly bino or singlino. As an interesting aside we also find a region of low $\tan \beta$ and small singlino mass parameter where a well-tempered neutralino avoids all cosmological and direct detection constraints.

Confronting recent AMS-02 positron fraction and Fermi-LAT extragalactic γ-ray background measurements with gravitino dark matter

Recent positron flux fraction measurements in cosmic-rays (CR) made by the AMS-02 satellite confirm and extends the evidence on the existence of a new (yet unknown) source of high energy positrons. To explain this excess, we use the gravitino of bilinear R-parity violating SUSY models as a decaying Dark Matter candidate, as the source of those high energy particles. Being a long lived weak-interacting and spin 3/2 particle, it offers several particularities which makes it an attractive candidate. We compute the electron, positron and $\gamma$-ray\ fluxes produced by each gravitino decay channel at the Earth. Combining the flux from the different decay modes we can fit AMS-02 measurements of the positron fraction, as well as the electron and positron fluxes, with a gravitino mass in the range $1-2$ TeV and lifetimes of $\sim 1.0-0.8\times 10^{26}$ s. . Then, we study the viability of these scenarios through their implications in $\gamma$-ray observations. We set limits on the gravitino lifetime using the Extragalactic $\gamma$-ray Background recently reported by the {\it Fermi}-LAT Collaboration and a state-of-the-art model of its known contributors. These limits exclude the gravitino parameter space which provides an acceptable explanation of the AMS-02 data. Therefore, we conclude that the gravitino of bilinear R-parity violating models is ruled out as the unique primary source of electrons and positrons needed to explain the rise in the positron fraction.

Features of electroweak symmetry breaking in five dimensional SUSY models

We explore the phenomenological predictions of a supersymmetric standard model, with a large extra dimension and unifying gauge couplings. The modified five dimensional renormalisation group equations make it possible to obtain light, maximally mixed stops, with a low scale of supersymmetry breaking and a low unification scale. This allows the fine-tuning to be lowered right down to the barrier coming directly from experimental lower limits on the stop masses. We also show that attempts at modifying the SUSY breaking pattern to obtain more natural soft terms at the high scale do not give the expected fine-tuning relaxation, and only RGE effects turn out to be effective in generating a lower fine-tuning.

Nucleon electric dipole moments in high-scale supersymmetric models

The electric dipole moments (EDMs) of electron and nucleons are promising probes of the new physics. In generic high-scale supersymmetric (SUSY) scenarios such as models based on mixture of the anomaly and gauge mediations, gluino has an additional contribution to the nucleon EDMs. In this paper, we studied the effect of the $CP$-violating gluon Weinberg operator induced by the gluino chromoelectric dipole moment in the high-scale SUSY scenarios, and we evaluated the nucleon and electron EDMs in the scenarios. We found that in the generic high-scale SUSY models, the nucleon EDMs may receive the sizable contribution from the Weinberg operator. Thus, it is important to compare the nucleon EDMs with the electron one in order to discriminate among the high-scale SUSY models.

PySLHA: a Pythonic interface to SUSY Les Houches Accord data

This paper describes the PySLHA package, a Python language module and program collection for reading, writing and visualising SUSY model data in the SLHA format. PySLHA can read and write SLHA data in a very general way, including the official SLHA2 extension and user customisations, and with arbitrarily deep indexing of data block entries and a dedicated, intuitive interface for particle data and decay information. The draft SLHA3 XSECTION feature is also fully supported. PySLHA can additionally read and write the legacy ISAWIG model format, and provides format conversion scripts. A publication-quality mass spectrum and decay chain plotting tool, slhaplot, is included in the package.

Search for long-lived, weakly interacting particles that decay to displaced hadronic jets in proton-proton collisions ats=8 TeVwith the ATLAS detector

A search for the decay of neutral, weakly interacting, long-lived particles using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses the full dataset recorded in 2012: 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of proton--proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV. The search employs techniques for reconstructing decay vertices of long-lived particles decaying to jets in the inner tracking detector and muon spectrometer. Signal events require at least two reconstructed vertices. No significant excess of events over the expected background is found, and limits as a function of proper lifetime are reported for the decay of the Higgs boson and other scalar bosons to long-lived particles and for Hidden Valley $Z^\prime$ and Stealth SUSY benchmark models. The first search results for displaced decays in $Z^\prime$ and Stealth SUSY models are presented. The upper bounds of the excluded proper lifetimes are the most stringent to date.

Higgs mass determination in supersymmetry

AbstractWe present the state-of-the-art of the effective field theory computation of the MSSM Higgs mass, improving the existing ones by including extra threshold corrections. We show that, with this approach, the theoretical uncertainty is within 1 GeV in most of the relevant parameter space. We confirm the smaller value of the Higgs mass found in the EFT computations, which implies a slightly heavier SUSY scale. We study the large tan β region, finding that sbottom thresholds might relax the upper bound on the scale of SUSY. We present SusyHD, a fast computer code that computes the Higgs mass and its uncertainty for any SUSY scale, from the TeV to the Planck scale, even in Split SUSY, both in the \( \overline{\mathrm{DR}} \) and in the on-shell schemes. Finally, we apply our results to derive bounds on some well motivated SUSY models, in particular we show how the value of the Higgs mass allows to determine the complete spectrum in minimal gauge mediation.

Probing bino–gluino coannihilation at the LHC

It has been widely known that bino-like dark matter in the supersymmetric (SUSY) theories in general suffers from over-production. The situation can be drastically improved if gluinos have a mass slightly heavier than the bino dark matter as they reduce the dark matter abundance through coannihilation. In this work, we consider such a bino–gluino coannihilation scenario in high-scale SUSY models, which can be actually realized when the squark-mass scale is less than 100–1000 TeV. We study the prospects for exploring this bino–gluino coannihilation scenario at the LHC. We show that the searches for long-lived colored particles with displaced vertices or large energy loss offer a strong tool to test this scenario in collider experiments.

The hierarchy solution to the LHC inverse problem

Supersymmetric (SUSY) models, even those described by relatively few parameters, generically allow many possible SUSY particle (sparticle) mass hierarchies. As the sparticle mass hierarchy determines, to a great extent, the collider phenomenology of a model, the enumeration of these hierarchies is of the utmost importance. We therefore provide a readily generalizable procedure for determining the number of sparticle mass hierarchies in a given SUSY model. As an application, we analyze the gravity-mediated SUSY breaking scenario with various combinations of GUT-scale boundary conditions involving different levels of universality among the gaugino and scalar masses. For each of the eight considered models, we provide the complete list of forbidden hierarchies in a compact form. Our main result is that the complete (typically rather large) set of forbidden hierarchies among the eight sparticles considered in this analysis can be fully specified by just a few forbidden relations involving much smaller subsets of sparticles.

GUT-inspired SUSY and the muon g − 2 anomaly: prospects for LHC 14 TeV

We consider the possibility that the muon g-2 anomaly, $\delta(g-2)$, finds its origins in low energy supersymmetry (SUSY). In the general MSSM the parameter space consistent with $\delta(g-2)$ and correct dark matter relic density of the lightest neutralino easily evades the present direct LHC limits on sparticle masses and also lies to a large extent beyond future LHC sensitivity. The situation is quite different in GUT-defined scenarios where input SUSY parameters are no longer independent. We analyze to what extent the LHC can probe a broad class of GUT-inspired SUSY models with gaugino non-universality that are currently in agreement with the bounds from $\delta(g-2)$, as well as with the relic density and the Higgs mass measurement. To this end we perform a detailed numerical simulation of several searches for electroweakino and slepton production at the LHC and derive projections for the LHC 14 TeV run. We show that, within GUT-scale SUSY there is still plenty of room for the explanation of the muon anomaly, although the current LHC data already imply strong limits on the parameter space consistent with $\delta(g-2)$. On the other hand, we demonstrate that the parameter space will be basically fully explored within the sensitivity of the 14 TeV run with 300 fb$^{-1}$. This opens up the interesting possibility that, if the g-2 anomaly is real then some positive signals must be detected at the LHC, or else these models will be essentially ruled out. Finally, we identify the few surviving spectra that will provide a challenge for detection at the LHC 14 TeV run and we characterize their properties.

Searches for supersymmetry using the M T2 variable in hadronic events produced in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are performed using a sample of hadronic events produced in 8 TeV pp collisions at the CERN LHC. The searches are based on the MT2 variable, which is a measure of the transverse momentum imbalance in an event. The data were collected with the CMS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. Two related searches are performed. The first is an inclusive search based on signal regions defined by the value of the MT2 variable, the hadronic energy in the event, the jet multiplicity, and the number of jets identified as originating from bottom quarks. The second is a search for a mass peak corresponding to a Higgs boson decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair, where the Higgs boson is produced as a decay product of a SUSY particle. For both searches, the principal backgrounds are evaluated with data control samples. No significant excess over the expected number of background events is observed, and exclusion limits on various SUSY models are derived.

Peccei-Quinn invariant singlet extended SUSY with anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry

Recent discovery of the SM-like Higgs boson with m h ≃ 125 GeV motivates an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), which involves a singlet Higgs superfield with a sizable Yukawa coupling to the doublet Higgs superfields. We examine such singlet-extended SUSY models with a Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry that originates from an anomalous U(1) A gauge symmetry. We focus on the specific scheme that the PQ symmetry is spontaneously broken at an intermediate scale v PQ ∼ m SUSY M Pl by an interplay between Planck scale suppressed operators and tachyonic soft scalar mass $$ {m}_{\mathrm{SUSY}}\sim \sqrt{D_A} $$ induced dominantly by the U(1) A D-term D A . This scheme also results in spontaneous SUSY breaking in the PQ sector, generating the gaugino masses $$ {m}_{1/2}\sim \sqrt{D_A} $$ when it is transmitted to the MSSM sector by the conventional gauge mediation mechanism. As a result, the MSSM soft parameters in this scheme are induced mostly by the U(1) A D-term and the gauge mediated SUSY breaking from the PQ sector, so that the sparticle masses can be near the present experimental bounds without causing the SUSY flavor problem. The scheme is severely constrained by the condition that a phenomenologically viable form of the low energy operators of the singlet and doublet Higgs superfields is generated by the PQ breaking sector in a way similar to the Kim-Nilles solution of the μ problem, and the resulting Higgs mass parameters allow the electroweak symmetry breaking with small tan β. We find two minimal models with two singlet Higgs superfields, satisfying this condition with a relatively simple form of the PQ breaking sector, and briefly discuss some phenomenological aspects of the model.