Light top squarks in $U(1)_{R}$-lepton number model with a right handed neutrino and the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores a supersymmetric model with an $U(1)_R$ symmetry that predicts light top squarks and a very light neutralino, analyzing their collider signatures at the LHC and potential for discovery.

Contribution

It introduces a novel $U(1)_R$-lepton number model with a right-handed neutrino, predicting light top squarks and unique decay channels, and assesses their detectability at the LHC.

Findings

Light top squarks with masses up to 575 GeV and 1.2 TeV can be probed at the LHC.

A very light bino-like neutralino (~MeV) can serve as missing energy carrier.

The model allows for a 'stealth' top squark scenario with distinctive collider signatures.

Abstract

We investigate the phenomenology of top squarks at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in a supersymmetric model where lepton number is identified with an approximate $U(1)_R$ symmetry in such a way that one of the left chiral sneutrinos can acquire a large vacuum expectation value ($vev$) and can play the role of the down-type Higgs. This $R$-symmetry allows a subset of trilinear $R$-parity violating interactions, which determine the collider phenomenology of this model in a significant way. The gauginos are Dirac particles and gluinos are relatively heavy in this class of models. The model contains a right handed neutrino superfield, which gives a tree level mass to one of the active neutrinos. An order one neutrino Yukawa coupling also helps enhance the Higgs boson mass at the tree level and results in a very light bino-like neutralino ($\widetilde \chi_2^0$) with mass around a few hundred MeV, which is a carrier of missing (transverse) energy (\met). The model can accommodate two rather light top squarks, compatible with the observed mass of the Higgs boson. The lighter top squark (${\widetilde t}_1$) can decay into $t\widetilde\chi_2^0$, and thus the signal would be similar to the signal of top quark pair production at the LHC. In addition, fully visible decays such as ${\widetilde t}_2 \rightarrow b e^+$ can give rise to interesting final states. Such signals at the LHC combined with other features like a heavy gluino could provide a strong evidence for this kind of a model. Our analysis shows that $m_{\widetilde t_1}\lsim 575~(750)$ GeV and $m_{\widetilde t_2}\lsim 1.2~(1.4)$ TeV can be probed with 5$\sigma$ statistical significance at the 13 TeV LHC with 300~(3000) fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. Finally, we observe that in the presence of super-light carriers of \met, the so-called `stealth' top squark scenario may naturally appear in our model.