Search for photonic signatures of gauge-mediated supersymmetry in 13 TeV $pp$ collisions with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper searches for photonic signatures of gauge-mediated supersymmetry in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using ATLAS data, setting limits on supersymmetric particle masses and cross sections.

Contribution

It introduces a search for supersymmetry with photon signatures in 13 TeV data, providing new limits on particle masses in gauge-mediated models.

Findings

No significant excess observed over Standard Model predictions.

Sets upper limits on cross sections between 0.083 fb and 0.32 fb.

Establishes lower mass limits up to 2.3 TeV for supersymmetric particles.

Abstract

A search is presented for photonic signatures, motivated by generalized models of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. This search makes use of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC, and it explores models dominated by both strong and electroweak production of supersymmetric partner states. Experimental signatures incorporating an isolated photon and significant missing transverse momentum are explored. These signatures include events with an additional photon or additional jet activity not associated with any specific underlying quark flavor. No significant excess of events is observed above the Standard Model prediction, and 95% confidence-level upper limits of between 0.083 fb and 0.32 fb are set on the visible cross section of contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. These results are interpreted in terms of lower limits on the masses of gluinos, squarks, and gauginos in the context of generalized models of gauge-mediated supersymmetry, which reach as high as 2.3 TeV for strongly produced and 1.3 TeV for weakly produced supersymmetric partner pairs.