Natural Supersymmetry: LHC, dark matter and ILC searches

TL;DR

This paper explores the parameter space, experimental signatures, and dark matter implications of Natural Supersymmetry models, emphasizing their detectability at LHC and future colliders, and discussing dark matter production mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of Natural SUSY models, including constraints, benchmark points, and detection prospects at colliders and in dark matter experiments.

Findings

Natural SUSY models are tightly constrained by b->sγ measurements.

Light Higgs scalar (~125 GeV) is challenging but possible within these models.

A future e+e- collider could effectively discover higgsino states.

Abstract

Particle physics models with Natural Supersymmetry are characterized by a superpotential parameter \mu \sim m_h \sim125$ GeV, while third generation squarks have mass <0.5-1.5 TeV. Gluinos should be lighter than several TeV so as not to destabilize the lighter squarks. First and second generation sfermions can be at the tens-of-TeV level which yields a decoupling solution to the SUSY flavor and CP problems. Adopting a top-down approach, we delineate the range of GUT scale SUSY model parameters which leads to a Natural SUSY mass spectrum. We find natural SUSY models to be tightly constrained by the b-> s\gamma branching fraction measurement while it is also difficult but not impossible to accommodate a light Higgs scalar of mass ~125 GeV. We present several benchmark points which are expandable to slopes and planes. Natural SUSY is difficult to see at LHC unless some third generation squarks are very light. The top- and bottom- squarks cascade decay mainly to higgsino-like charginos and neutralinos via numerous possibilities, leading to a rather complex set of signatures. Meanwhile, a linear e^+e^- collider operating at \sqrt{s}\sim 0.25-0.5 TeV would be a higgsino factory and is essentially guaranteed a SUSY discovery of the low-lying charged and neutral higgsino states. Since thermal neutralino cold dark matter is underproduced, we conjecture that the incorporation of a Peccei-Quinn sector or light moduli into the theory will augment higgsino dark matter production, possibly together with an admixture of axions. We present rates for direct and indirect higgsino dark matter detection for the case where light higgsinos dominate the dark matter abundance.