A first study of Hidden Valley models at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores potential Hidden Valley models at the LHC, analyzing how new stable particles could be produced and decay, and proposing methods to distinguish different models through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation framework for Hidden Valley models with U(1) and SU(N) gauge groups, demonstrating how to identify and measure model parameters at the LHC.

Findings

Different Hidden Valley scenarios produce distinct collider signatures

Simulation results show how to differentiate models based on decay patterns

Parameter measurement techniques are proposed for LHC data

Abstract

New stable particles with fairly low masses could exist if the coupling to the Standard Model is weak, and with suitable parameters they might be possible to produce at the LHC. Here we study a selection of models with the new particles being charged under a new gauge group, either U(1) or SU(N). In the Abelian case there will be radiation of gammavs, which decay back into the SM. In the non-Abelian case the particles will undergo hadronization into mesons like states piv/rhov that subsequently decays. We consider three different scenarios for interaction between the new sector and the SM sector and perform simulations using a Hidden Valley model previously implemented in PYTHIA. In this study we illustrate how one can distinguish the different models and measure different parameters of the models under conditions like those at the LHC.