Mono-jet, -photon and -Z Signals of a Supersymmetric (B-L) model at the Large Hadron Collider

TL;DR

This paper investigates mono-jet, -photon, and -Z signals at the LHC as indicators of a supersymmetric (B-L) extension of the Standard Model, focusing on invisible decays mediated by a Z' boson and their detectability.

Contribution

It introduces the analysis of invisible signals in the BLSSM at the LHC, highlighting the role of Z' mediation and sneutrino decays, and evaluates the sensitivity with realistic simulations.

Findings

Mono-jet signals are detectable at the LHC with 300 fb$^{-1}$.

Mono-photon and -Z signals serve as diagnostic tools for the model.

Significant sensitivity to BLSSM signals can be achieved during Run 2.

Abstract

Search for invisible final states produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by new physics scenarios are normally carried out resorting to a variety of probes emerging from the initial state, in the form of single-jet, -photon and -$Z$ boson signatures. These are particularly effective for models of Supersymmetry (SUSY) in presence of $R$-parity conservation, owing to the presence in their spectra of a stable neutralino as dark matter candidate. We assume here as theoretical framework Supersymmetric ($B-L$) extension of the Standard Model (BLSSM), wherein a mediator for invisible decays can be $Z'$ boson. The peculiarity of the signal is thus that the final state objects carry a very large (transverse) missing energy, since the $Z'$ is naturally massive and constrained by direct searches and electro-weak precision tests to be at least in TeV scale region. Under these circumstances the efficiency in accessing the invisible final state and rejecting the standard model background is very high. This somehow compensates the rather meagre production rates. Another special feature of this invisible BLSSM signal is its composition, which is often dominated by sneutrino decays (alongside the more traditional neutrino and neutralino modes). Sensitivity of the CERN machine to these two features can therefore help disentangling the BLSSM from more popular SUSY models. We assess in this analysis the scope of the LHC in establishing the aforementioned invisible signals through a sophisticated signal-to-background simulation carried out in presence of parton shower, hadronisation and detector effects. We find that significant sensitivity exists already after 300 fb$^{-1}$ during Run 2. We find that mono-jet events can be readily accessible at the LHC, so as to enable one to claim a prompt discovery, while mono-photon and -$Z$ signals can be used as diagnostic tools of the underlying scenario.