Search for heavy metastable particles decaying to jet pairs in pp collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for heavy, long-lived particles decaying into jet pairs in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV, using data from the CDF II detector, setting limits on their production cross sections.

Contribution

It introduces a data-driven method to estimate background and sets new limits on metastable particle production in a hidden valley model.

Findings

No significant excess observed above background.

Limits set on production cross sections for various masses and lifetimes.

Method demonstrates effective background modeling for long-lived particle searches.

Abstract

A search is performed for heavy metastable particles that decay into jet pairs with a macroscopic lifetime (ctau ~ 1 cm) in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV using data from the CDF II detector at Fermilab corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb^-1. To estimate the standard model background a data-driven approach is used. Probability-density functions are constructed to model secondary vertices from known processes. No statistically significant excess is observed above the background. Limits on the production cross section in a hidden valley benchmark phenomenology are set for various Higgs boson masses as well as metastable particle masses and lifetimes.