MFV Reductions of MSSM Parameter Space

TL;DR

This paper explores parameter reductions of the MSSM using minimal flavour violation, creating manageable frameworks (MSSM-24, MSSM-30, MSSM-42), and performs a Bayesian fit to data for the MSSM-30, revealing preferences for lighter Higgs and multi-TeV sparticles.

Contribution

It introduces new MSSM parameter frameworks based on MFV expansions and demonstrates their manageability through Bayesian global fits, comparing them to existing models like pMSSM.

Findings

MSSM-30 favors a lighter TeV-scale pseudoscalar Higgs.

The analysis suggests multi-TeV sparticles are preferred.

pMSSM is not a subset of the MFV-based frameworks.

Abstract

The 100+ free parameters of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) make it computationally difficult to compare systematically with data, motivating the study of specific parameter reductions such as the cMSSM and pMSSM. Here we instead study the reductions of parameter space implied by using minimal flavour violation (MFV) to organise the R-parity conserving MSSM, with a view towards systematically building in constraints on flavour-violating physics. Within this framework the space of parameters is reduced by expanding soft supersymmetry-breaking terms in powers of the Cabibbo angle, leading to a 24-, 30- or 42-parameter framework (which we call MSSM-24, MSSM-30, and MSSM-42 respectively), depending on the order kept in the expansion. We provide a Bayesian global fit to data of the MSSM-30 parameter set to show that this is manageable with current tools. We compare the MFV reductions to the 19-parameter pMSSM choice and show that the pMSSM is not contained as a subset. The MSSM-30 analysis favours a relatively lighter TeV-scale pseudoscalar Higgs boson and $\tan \beta \sim 10$ with multi-TeV sparticles.