Unification and New Particles at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores new gauge sectors compatible with gauge coupling unification in supersymmetry, predicting novel resonances at the LHC arising from confining dynamics at multi-TeV scales.

Contribution

It identifies and characterizes new gauge sectors with horizontal gauge groups that are consistent with unification and predicts their collider signatures.

Findings

New gauge sectors compatible with unification are enumerated.

Most theories are in the supersymmetric conformal window at high energies.

Predicted resonances have unusual quantum numbers and decay patterns accessible at the LHC.

Abstract

Precision gauge coupling unification is one of the primary quantitative successes of low energy or split supersymmetry. Preserving this success puts severe restrictions on possible matter and gauge sectors that might appear at collider-accessible energies. In this work we enumerate new gauge sectors which are compatible with unification, consisting of horizontal gauge groups acting on vector-like matter charged under the Standard Model. Interestingly, almost all of these theories are in the supersymmetric conformal window at high energies and confine quickly after the superpartners are decoupled. For a range of scalar masses compatible with both moderately tuned and minimally split supersymmetry, the confining dynamics happen at the multi-TeV scale, leading to a spectrum of multiple spin-0 and spin-1 resonances accessible to the LHC, with unusual quantum numbers and striking decay patterns.