Searches for supersymmetric particles in e<Superscript> + </Superscript>e<Superscript>-</Superscript> collisions up to 208 GeV and interpretation of the results within the MSSM

DELPHI data collected at centre-of-mass energies up to 208 GeV have been analysed to search for charginos, neutralinos and sfermions in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with R-parity conservation. No evidence for a signal was found in any of the channels. The results of each search were used to derive limits on production cross-sections and particle masses. In addition, the combined result of all searches excludes regions in the parameter space of the constrained MSSM, leading to limits on the mass of the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle and other supersymmetric particles.Received: 22 February 2003, Revised: 24 July 2003, Published online: 12 November 2003     

Search for supersymmetric particles in scenarios with a gravitino LSP and stau NLSP

Sleptons, neutralinos and charginos were searched for in the context of scenarios where the lightest supersymmetric particle is the gravitino. It was assumed that the stau is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Data collected with the DELPHI detector at a centre-of-mass energy near 189 GeV were analysed combining the methods developed in previous searches at lower energies. No evidence for the production of these supersymmetric particles was found. Hence, limits were derived at 95% confidence level. Received: 3 February 2000 / Revised version: 3 March 2000 / Published online: 8 May 2000     

Search for gauge mediated SUSY breaking topologies in ee collisions at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV

A total of 628 bp^-1 of data collected with the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies from 189 to 209 GeV is analysed in the search for gauge mediated SUSY breaking (GMSB) topologies. These topologies include two acoplanar photons, non-pointing single photons, acoplanar leptons, large impact parameter leptons, detached slepton decay vertices, heavy stable charged sleptons and multi-leptons plus missing energy final states. No evidence is found for new phenomena, and lower limits on masses of supersymmetric particles are derived. A scan of a minimal GMSB parameter space is performed and lower limits are set for the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) mass at 54 GeV/c² and for the mass scale parameter at 10 TeV/c², independently of the NLSP lifetime. Including the results from the neutral Higgs boson searches, a NLSP mass limit of 77 GeV/c² is obtained and values of up to 16 TeV/c² are excluded. Received: 14 March 2002 / Published online: 20 September 2002     

Search for chargino and neutralino production at \sqrt{s} = 170 and 172 GeV at LEP

A search for charginos and neutralinos, predicted by supersymmetric theories, has been performed using a data sample of pb at centre-of-mass energies of 170 and 172 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. No evidence for these particles has been found. The results are combined with those from previous OPAL chargino and neutralino searches at lower energies to obtain limits. Exclusion regions at 95% C.L. of parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model are determined. Within this framework, for , lower mass limits are placed on the lightest chargino and the three lightest neutralinos. The 95% C.L. lower mass limit on the lightest chargino, assuming that it is heavier than the lightest neutralino by more than 10 GeV, is 84.5 GeV for the case of a large universal scalar mass ( 1 TeV) and 65.7 GeV for the smallest compatible with current limits on the sneutrino mass and slepton cross-sections. The lower limit on the lightest neutralino mass at 95% C.L. for is 24.7 GeV for TeV and 13.3 GeV for the minimum scenario. These mass limits are higher for increasing values of . The interpretation of the limits in terms of gluino and scalar quark mass limits is also given. Received: 11 July 1997 / Online publication: February 26, 1998     

Search for chargino and neutralino production at \sqrt{s} = 181–184 GeV at LEP

A search for charginos and neutralinos, predicted by supersymmetric theories, has been performed using a data sample of 57 pb at centre-of-mass energies of 181–184 GeV taken with the OPAL detector at LEP. No evidence for chargino or neutralino production has been found. Upper limits on chargino and neutralino pair production (, ) cross-sections are obtained as a function of the chargino mass (), the lightest neutralino mass () and the second lightest neutralino mass (). For large chargino masses the limits have been improved with respect to the previous analyses at lower centre-of-mass energies. Exclusion regions at 95% confidence level (C.L.) of parameters of the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model are determined for the case of a large universal scalar mass, , implying heavy scalar fermions, and for the case of a small resulting in light scalar fermions and giving the worst-case limits. Within this framework and for GeV the 95% C.L. lower limits on for GeV are 90.0 and 90.2 GeV for and 35 respectively. These limits for all (the worst-case) are 69.1 and 65.2 GeV for and 35 respectively. Exclusion regions are also presented for neutralino masses, including an absolute lower limit at 95% C.L. for the mass of the lightest neutralino of 30.1 GeV for GeV (24.2 GeV for all ), with implications for experimental searches for the lightest neutralino as a dark matter candidate. Received: 19 August 1998 / Published online: 11 March 1999     

Search for gauge mediated SUSY breaking topologies at \sqrt{{\mathrm s}} \sim 189 GeV

Searches for topologies characteristic of Gauge Mediated SUSY Breaking models (GMSB) are performed by analysing 173.6 of data collected at = 188.6 GeV with the ALEPH detector. These topologies include acoplanar photons, non-pointing single photon, acoplanar leptons, large impact parameter leptons, detached slepton decay vertices, heavy stable charged sleptons and four leptons plus missing energy final states. No evidence for these new phenomena is observed and limits on production cross sections and sparticle masses are derived. A scan of a minimal GMSB parameter space is performed and model dependent lower limits of about 45 GeV/ on the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) mass and of about 9 TeV on the mass scale parameter are derived, independently of the NLSP lifetime. Received: 30 November 1999 / Published online: 14 April 2000     

Search for chargino and neutralino production at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV at LEP

A search for charginos and neutralinos, predicted by supersymmetric theories, is performed using a data sample of 182.1 pb taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. No evidence for chargino or neutralino production is found. Upper limits on chargino and neutralino pair production (, ) cross-sections are obtained as a function of the chargino mass (), the lightest neutralino mass () and the second lightest neutralino mass (). Within the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model framework, and for GeV, the 95% confidence level lower limits on are 93.6 GeV for and 94.1 GeV for . These limits are obtained assuming a universal scalar mass 500 GeV. The corresponding limits for all are 78.0 and 71.7 GeV. The 95% confidence level lower limits on the lightest neutralino mass, valid for any value of are 32.8 GeV for GeV and 31.6 GeV for all . Received: 14 October 1999 / Published online: 6 March 2000     

Searches for supersymmetric particles and anomalous four-jet production at} $sqrt{s}=130$ and 136 GeV at LEP

A search for supersymmetric particles (charged scalar leptons, charginos decaying semileptonically, scalar top quarks) and for the associated production of two massive particles decaying into quarks has been performed using a data sample of more than 5 pb^?1 at centre-of-mass energies of $sqrt{s}=130$ and 136 GeV collected with the OPAL detector at LEP during November 1995. No evidence for production of any of these particles has been observed in the data. Limits are presented on the production of charged scalar leptons, semileptonically decaying charginos, scalar top quarks and on the associated production of two massive particles leading to four-jet final states.     

Supersymmetric lepton flavor violation in a linear collider: the role of charginos

The occurrence of significant supersymmetric lepton flavor violation at laboratory energies, through – mixing, has become a realistic possibility in the wake of the super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino result. This effect can be observed in an linear collider with the distinct final state . We show that the pair production of charginos can make an important contribution to this process and has to be taken into account in addition to that of sneutrinos or charged sleptons. Some case studies are presented with CM energies of 500 and 800GeV and integrated luminosities of 50, 500 and 1000. Received: 14 March 2001 / Published online: 19 July 2001     

Search for associated production of charginos and neutralinos in the trilepton final state using 2.3 fb of data

We report the results of a search for associated production of charginos and neutralinos using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb⁻¹ collected with the DØ experiment during Run II of the Tevatron proton–antiproton collider. Final states containing three charged leptons and missing transverse energy are probed for a signal from supersymmetry with four dedicated trilepton event selections. No evidence for a signal is observed, and we set limits on the product of production cross section and leptonic branching fraction. Within minimal supergravity, these limits translate into bounds on m₀ and m_1/2 that are well beyond existing limits.     

S earch for anomalous production of di-l epton ev ents with missing transv ers e mom entum in e + e- collisions at $\sqrt{s} = {}$183-209 G eV

In total 1317 di-lepton events with significant missing transverse momentum were identified in a total data sample of 680 pb^-1 collected at e ⁺ e^- centre-of-mass energies ranging from 183 GeV to 209 GeV. The number of di-lepton events, the dependence on centre-of-mass energy, and the event properties are consistent with expectations from Standard Model processes, predominantly W ⁺ W^- production with both W bosons decaying leptonically. This topology is also an experimental signature for the pair production of new particles that decay to a charged lepton accompanied by one or more invisible particles. No evidence for new phenomena is apparent. Upper limits are presented on the production cross-section multiplied by the relevant branching ratio squared for sleptons, leptonically decaying charginos and charged Higgs bosons. Mass limits are also given.Received: 14 July 2003, Published online: 9 January 2004     

Search for supersymmetry via associated production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three leptons

A search for associated production of charginos and neutralinos is performed using data recorded with the D0 detector at a pp center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. This analysis considers final states with missing transverse energy and three charged leptons, of which at least two are electrons or muons. No evidence for supersymmetry is found in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 320 pb-1. Limits on the product of the production cross section and leptonic branching fraction are set. For the minimal supergravity model, a chargino lower mass limit of 117 GeV at the 95% C.L. is derived in regions of parameter space with enhanced leptonic branching fractions.     

A supersymmetric extension of the standard model with bilinear R-parity violation

The minimum supersymmetric standard model with bilinear R-parity violation is studied systematically. As we consider low-energy supersymmetry, we examine the structure of the bilinear R-parity violating model carefully. We analyze the mixing of, e.g., Higgs bosons with sleptons, neutralinos with neutrinos and charginos with charged leptons in the model. Possible and some important physics results, e.g. that the lightest Higgs may be heavier than the weak Z-boson at tree level, are obtained. The Feynman rules for the model are derived in the 't Hooft–Feynman gauge, which is convenient if perturbative calculations are needed beyond the tree level. Received: 26 April 1999 / Revised version: 28 June 1999 / Published online: 16 November 1999     

Heavy SUSY Higgs bosons at e + e − linear colliders

The production mechanisms and decay modes of the heavy neutral and charged Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model are investigated at future e ⁺ e ^? colliders in the TeV energy regime. We generate supersymmetric particle spectra by requiring the MSSM Higgs potential to produce correct radiative electroweak symmetry breaking, and we assume a common scalar mass m₀, gaugino mass m_1/2 and trilinear coupling A, as well as gauge and Yukawa coupling unification at the Grand Unification scale. Particular emphasis is put on the low tan β solution in this scenario where decays of the Higgs bosons to Standard Model particles compete with decays to supersymmetric charginos/neutralinos as well as sfermions. In the high tan β case, the supersymmetric spectrum is either too heavy or the supersymmetric decay modes are suppressed, since the Higgs bosons decay almost exclusively into b and τ pairs. The main production mechanisms for the heavy Higgs particles are the associated AH production and H ⁺H^? pair production with cross sections of the order of a few fb.     

Supersymmetric penguin contributions to the decay b\rightarrow s\gamma with non-universal squarks masses

We give explicit expressions for the amplitudes associated with the supersymmetric (SUSY) contributions to the process in the context of SUSY extensions of the standard model (SM) with non-universal soft SUSY breaking terms. From experimental data we deduce limits on the squark mass insertions obtained from different contributions (gluinos, neutralinos and charginos). Received: 20 April 2001 / Revised version: 14 December 2001 / Published online: 5 April 2002     

Decoupling of supersymmetric particles

The possibility of a heavy supersymmetric spectrum at the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is considered and the decoupling from the low energy electroweak scale is analyzed in detail. The formal proof of decoupling of supersymmetric particles from low energy physics is stated in terms of the effective action for the particles of the Standard Model that results by integrating out all the sparticles in the limit where their masses are larger than the electroweak scale. The computation of the effective action for the standard electroweak gauge bosons , Z and is performed by integrating out all the squarks, sleptons, charginos and neutralinos to one-loop. The Higgs sector is not considered in this paper. The large sparticle masses limit is also analyzed in detail. Explicit analytical formulae for the two-point functions of the electroweak gauge bosons to be valid in that limit are presented. Finally, the decoupling of sparticles in the S, T and U parameters is studied analitically. A discussion on how the decoupling takes place in terms of both the physical sparticle masses and the non-physical mass parameters as the -parameter and the soft-breaking parameters is included. Received: 27 March 1998 / Published online: 5 October 1998     

Higgs bosons in supersymmetric models (III). Decays into neutralinos and charginos

We give explicit formulae for the decays of the Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric model to neutralinos and charginos. The important features of these decays are illustrated and their phenomenological implications discussed. Particular attention is given to the decays of heavy Higgs bosons (with masses larger than m_Z) which can only be observed at a future supercollider. When phase-space allowed, Higgs decays into neutralinos and charginos are at least as important as, and often dominate, other types of Higgs decay modes, such as WW, ZZ, and heavy quark (or lepton) pairs.     

Direct chargino–neutralino production at the LHC: interpreting the exclusion limits in the complex MSSM

We re-assess the exclusion limits on the parameters describing the supersymmetric (SUSY) electroweak sector of the MSSM obtained from the search for direct chargino–neutralino production at the LHC. We start from the published limits obtained for simplified models, where for the case of heavy sleptons the relevant branching ratio, $\mathrm {BR}(\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{2} \to \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1} Z)$ , is set to one. We show how the decay mode $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{2} \to \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1} h$ , which cannot be neglected in any realistic model once kinematically allowed, substantially reduces the excluded parameter region. We analyze the dependence of the excluded regions on the phase of the gaugino soft SUSY-breaking mass parameter, M ₁, on the mass of the light scalar tau, $m_{{\tilde{\tau}_{1}}}$ , on tanβ as well as on the squark and slepton mass scales. Large reductions in the ranges of parameters excluded can be observed in all scenarios. The branching ratios of charginos and neutralinos are evaluated using a full NLO calculation for the complex MSSM. The size of the effects of the NLO calculation on the exclusion bounds is investigated. We furthermore assess the potential reach of the experimental analyses after collecting 100 fb^?1 at the LHC running at 13 TeV.     

Search for charginos nearly mass-degenerate with the lightest neutralino

A search for charginos with masses close to the mass of the lightest neutralino is reported, based on the data collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP from 1995 to 1997 at centre-of-mass energies between 130 and 183 GeV. The signature of a photon at high transverse momentum radiated from the initial state reduces the two-photon background to acceptable rates, thus making the mass differences between a few hundred MeV/c and 3 GeV/c detectable. In very nearly degenerate scenarios, the lifetime of the chargino can be large enough to produce either visible secondary vertices or decays outside the detector; therefore, quasi-stable heavy charged particles and displaced decay vertices were also searched for. No excess of events with respect to the Standard Model expectations was observed, and limits in the plane of chargino-neutralino mass difference versus chargino mass are given. Received: 20 March 1999 / Published online: 8 September 1999     

Associated production of sfermions and gauginos at high-energy ee colliders: The case of selectrons and electronic sneutrinos

We analyze the associated production at future high-energy e ⁺ e ^- colliders, of first generation sleptons with neutralinos and charginos in the modes e ⁺ e ^- and , in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. We show that the production rates, in particular for associated production of right-handed selectrons and the lightest neutralino which in general is the first accessible kinematically, can be much larger than the corresponding ones for second and third generation scalar leptons and for scalar quarks. With the high luminosities expected at these colliders, the detection of first generation sleptons with masses significantly above the kinematical two-body threshold, , is thus possible in favorable regions of the parameter space. Received: 27 June 2002 / Published online: 20 September 2002