Missing energy look-alikes with 100 pb-1 at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper proposes a practical method to quickly identify the underlying theory of missing energy signals at the LHC using early data, focusing on ratios of simple observables to distinguish models like supersymmetry from look-alikes.

Contribution

It introduces a robust strategy based on ratios of inclusive counts to discriminate between different theoretical models with minimal early LHC data.

Findings

Effective discrimination of supersymmetry from non-supersymmetric models with 100 pb-1.

Uses ratios of physics object counts to identify differences in spin.

Works with simulated data 10-100 times smaller than previous studies.

Abstract

A missing energy discovery is possible at the LHC with the first 100 pb-1 of understood data. We present a realistic strategy to rapidly narrow the list of candidate theories at, or close to, the moment of discovery. The strategy is based on robust ratios of inclusive counts of simple physics objects. We study specific cases showing discrimination of look-alike models in simulated data sets that are at least 10 to 100 times smaller than used in previous studies. We discriminate supersymmetry models from non-supersymmetric look-alikes with only 100 pb-1 of simulated data, using combinations of observables that trace back to differences in spin.