Search for R-parity violating decays of sfermions at LEP

A search for pair-produced sfermions, the scalar supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model fermions, under the assumption that R-parity is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 610 pb^-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of GeV. An important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric particle is expected to be unstable. Searches for R-parity violating decays of charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of leptons, jets, or both, with or without missing energy. No significant signal-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard Model expectations. Limits on the production cross-sections of sfermions in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Received: 25 June 2003, Published online: 13 February 2004     

Searches for R-parity violating decays of Gauginos at 183 GeV at LEP

Searches for pair-produced charginos and neutralinos with R-parity violating decays have been performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 56 pb collected with the OPAL detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. An important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric particle becomes unstable. The searches have been performed under the assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle promptly decays and that only one R-parity violating coupling is dominant for each of the decay modes considered. Such processes would yield multiple leptons, jets plus leptons, or multiple jets with or without significant missing energy in the final state. No excess of such events above Standard Model backgrounds has been observed. Limits are presented on the production cross-sections of gauginos in R-parity violating scenarios. Limits are also presented in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. Received: 14 December 1998 / Published online: 14 October 1999     

R_b and R_{\ell} in MSSM without R-parity

We examined and couplings in the minimal supersymmetric model with explicit trilinear R-parity violating interactions. We found that the top quark couplings and can give sizable contributions through top quark loops. When deriving the bounds from and data, we also take into account the loop contributions of R-parity conserving interactions. The bounds from are found to be stronger than those from and serve as the hitherto strongest bounds for some couplings. Received: 14 October 1999 / Revised version: 2 May 2001 / Published online: 8 June 2001     

Top squark and neutralino decays in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-parity violating model constrained by neutrino oscillation data

In a R-parity violating (RPV) model of neutrino mass with three bilinear couplings μ _i and three trilinear couplings λ′ _i33, where i is the lepton index, we find six generic scenarios each with a distinctive pattern of the trilinear couplings consistent with the neutrino oscillation data. These patterns may be reflected in direct RPV decays of the lighter top squark or in the RPV decays of the lightest superparticle, assumed to be the lightest neutralino. Typical signal sizes at the Tevatron RUN II and the LHC have been estimated and the results turn out to be encouraging.      

Exploring the SUSY Higgs sector ate +e− linear colliders: a synopsis

We discuss the Higgs scenario in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model ate ⁺e^? linear colliders operating in the c.m. energy range between 300 and 500 GeV. Besides decays of the Higgs particles into ordinary fermions and cascade decays, we analyze also decays into gaugino/Higgsinos and in particular, neutral Higgs decays into the lightest supersymmetric particles which are invisible ifR-parity is conserved. The cross sections for the various production channels of SUSY Higgs particles ine ⁺e^? collisions are discussed in detail. The lightest Higgs boson cannot escape detection, and in major parts of the MSSM parameter space all five Higgs particles can be observed.     

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     

Testing the mechanism for the LSP stability at the LHC

The lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is a natural candidate for the cold dark matter of the universe. In this Letter we discuss how to test the mechanism responsible for the LSP stability at the LHC. We note that if R-parity is conserved dynamically one should expect a Higgs boson which decays mainly into two right-handed neutrinos (a “leptonic” Higgs) or into two sfermions. The first case could exhibit spectacular lepton number violating signals with four secondary vertices due to the long-lived nature of right-handed neutrinos. These signals, together with the standard channels for the discovery of SUSY, could help to establish the underlying theory at the TeV scale.     

Neutrino masses and mixing in supersymmetric theories

It has been known for sometime that supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation provide a natural framework where small neutrino masses can be generated. We discuss neutrino masses and mixing in these theories in the presence of trilinear lepton number violating couplings. It will be shown that simultaneous solutions to solar and atmospheric neutrino problems can be realized in these models.     

Neutrino mass patterns, R-parity violating supersymmetry and associated phenomenology

Motivated by the recent super-Kamiokande results on atmospheric neutrinos, we incorporate massive neutrinos, with large angle oscillation between the second and third generations, in a theory with R-parity violating supersymmetry. The general features of such a theory are briefly reviewed. We emphasize its testability through the observation of comparable numbers of muons and taus, produced together with the W-boson, in decays of the lightest neutralino. A distinctly measurable decay gap is another remarkable feature of such a scenario.     

Photon signatures for low energy supersymmetry breaking and broken R-parity

The possible phenomenological consequences of R-parity violating interactions in the framework of low energy supersymmetry breaking are studied. It is pointed out that even very weak R-parity violation would completely overshadow one of the basic signatures of low energy supersymmetry breaking models, that is the decay of the next to lightest supersymmetric particle into a photon (lepton) and missing energy. Thus, the observation of these decays would put very strong limits on R-parity violating couplings. Vice-versa, if R-parity violation is established experimentally, before a detailed knowledge of the spectrum is obtained, it will be very difficult to distinguish gravity mediated from low energy gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking scenarios. Those conclusions are very model independent. We also comment on the possibility of mixing between charged and neutral leptons with charginos and neutralinos, respectively, and its phenomenological consequences for the photon (lepton) signatures, in scenarios where this mixing is generated by the presence of bilinear or trilinear R-parity violating terms in the superpotential.     

Searches at HERA for squarks in R-parity violating supersymmetry

A search for squarks in R-parity violating supersymmetry is performed in collisions at HERA at a centre of mass energy of 300 GeV, using H1 data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 37 pb. The direct production of single squarks of any generation in positron-quark fusion via a Yukawa coupling is considered, taking into account R-parity violating and conserving decays of the squarks. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is found. The results are interpreted in terms of constraints within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), the constrained MSSM and the minimal Supergravity model, and their sensitivity to the model parameters is studied in detail. For a Yukawa coupling of electromagnetic strength, squark masses below 260 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level in a large part of the parameter space. For a 100 times smaller coupling strength masses up to 182 GeV are excluded. Received: 28 February 2001 / Published online: 29 June 2001     

Search for the scalar top quark in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV

We have performed a search for scalar top quark (stop) pair production in the inclusive electron-muon-missing transverse energy final state, using a sample of pp events corresponding to 108.3 pb(-1) of data collected with the D0 detector at Fermilab. The search is done in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model assuming that the sneutrino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. For the dominant decays of the lightest stop, t-->b chi+1 and t-->blnu, no evidence for signal is found. We derive cross-section limits as a function of stop ( t ), chargino ( chi+1), and sneutrino ( nu) masses.     

Particle mass limits in minimal and nonminimal supersymmetric models

A review of the Higgs and neutralino sector of supersymmetric models is presented. This includes the upper limit on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, as well as models based on the standard model gauge groupSU(2) _L xU(l) _Y with extended Higgs sectors. We then discuss the Higgs sector of left-right supersymmetric models, which conserveR-parity as a consequence of gauge invariance, and present a calculable upper bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in these models. We also discuss the neutralino sector of general supersymmetric models based on the SM gauge group. We show that, as a consequence of gauge coupling unification, an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutralino as a function of the gluino mass can be obtained.     

Experimental signatures of fermiophobic Higgs bosons

The most general Two Higgs Doublet Model potential without explicit CP violation depends on 10 real independent parameters. Excluding spontaneous CP violation results in two 7 parameter models. Although both models give rise to 5 scalar particles and 2 mixing angles, the resulting phenomenology of the scalar sectors is different. If flavour changing neutral currents at tree level are to be avoided, one has, in both cases, four alternative ways of introducing the fermion couplings. In one of these models the mixing angle of the CP even sector can be chosen in such a way that the fermion couplings to the lightest scalar Higgs boson vanishes. At the same time it is possible to suppress the fermion couplings to the charged and pseudo-scalar Higgs bosons by appropriately choosing the mixing angle of the CP odd sector. We investigate the phenomenology of both models in the fermiophobic limit and present the different branching ratios for the decays of the scalar particles. We use the present experimental results from the LEP collider to constrain the models. Received: 21 July 1999 / Revised version: 6 September 1999 / Published online: 3 November 1999     

New physics effects from B meson decays

In this talk, we point out some of the present and future possible signatures of physics beyond the Standard Model from B-meson decays, taking R-parity conserving and violating supersymmetry as illustrative examples. An expanded version is available on hep-ph archive.     

Infra-red fixed points in supersymmetry

Model independent constraints on supersymmetric models emerge when certain couplings are drawn towards their infra-red (quasi) fixed points in the course of their renormalization group evolution. The general principles are first reviewed and the conclusions for some recent studies of theories with R-parity and baryon and lepton number violations are summarized.     

Tests of the standard model and constraints on new physics from measurements of fermion-pair production at 189 GeV at LEP

Cross-sections and angular distributions for hadronic and lepton pair final states in collisions at a centre-of-mass energy near 189 GeV, measured with the OPAL detector at LEP, are presented and compared with the predictions of the Standard Model. The results are used to measure the energy dependence of the electromagnetic coupling constant , and to place limits on new physics as described by four-fermion contact interactions or by the exchange of a new heavy particle such as a sneutrino in supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation. A search for the indirect effects of the gravitational interaction in extra dimensions on the and final states is also presented. Received: 9 July 1999 / Published online: 17 February 2000     

Charged-lepton-flavour violation in kaon decays in supersymmetric theories

We discuss rare kaon decays that violate charged-lepton flavour conservation in supersymmetric theories with and without R parity, in view of possible experiments using an intense proton source as envisaged for a neutrino factory. In the minimal supersymmetric standard model, such decays are generated by box diagrams involving charginos and neutralinos, but the limits from –e conversion and constrain the branching ratios to challengingly small values. However, this is no longer the case in R-violating theories, where such decays may occur at tree level at rates close to the present experimental limits. Within this framework, we obtain bounds on products of and operators from the experimental upper limits on and decays. We also note the possibility of like-sign lepton decays in the presence of non-zero – mixing. We conclude that rare kaon decays violating charged-lepton flavour conservation could be an interesting signature of R violation. Received: 8 September 2000 / Published online: 17 December 2001     

Chargino and neutralino decays revisited

We perform a comprehensive analysis of the decays of charginos and neutralinos in the minimal supersymmetric standard model where the neutralino is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. We focus, in particular, on the three-body decays of the next-to-lightest neutralino and the lightest chargino into the lightest neutralino and fermion–antifermion pairs and include vector boson, Higgs boson and sfermion exchange diagrams, where in the latter contribution the full mixing in the third generation is included. The radiative corrections to the heavy fermion and SUSY particle masses will also be taken into account. We present complete analytical formulae for the Dalitz densities and the integrated partial decay widths in the massless fermion case, as well as the expressions of the differential decay widths including the masses of the final fermions and the polarization of the decaying charginos and neutralinos. We then discuss these decay modes, in particular in scenarios where the parameter is large and in models without universal gaugino masses at the grand unification scale, where some new decay channels, such as decays into gluinos and pairs, open up. Received: 12 April 2001 / Published online: 8 June 2001     

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