Higher-spin particles at high-energy colliders

TL;DR

This paper develops an effective field theory framework for higher-spin particles, analyzing their collider signatures, decay rates, and production mechanisms, with a focus on spin-3/2 and spin-2 states at LHC and future colliders.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic approach to model higher-spin particles, computes their collider phenomenology, and provides technical tools for future experimental searches.

Findings

Identifies promising experimental signatures for spin-3/2 and spin-2 particles at the LHC.

Provides decay rates and production cross sections for higher-spin states.

Highlights phenomenological similarities with supersymmetric and extra-dimensional theories.

Abstract

Using an effective field theory approach for higher-spin fields, we derive the interactions of colour singlet and electrically neutral particles with a spin higher than unity, concentrating on the spin-3/2, spin-2, spin-5/2 and spin-3 cases. We compute the decay rates and production cross sections in the main channels for spin-3/2 and spin-2 states at both electron-positron and hadron colliders, and identify the most promising novel experimental signatures for discovering such particles at the LHC. The discussion is qualitatively extended to the spin-5/2 and spin-3 cases. Higher-spin particles exhibit a rich phenomenology and have signatures that often resemble the ones of supersymmetric and extra-dimensional theories. To enable further studies of higher-spin particles at collider and beyond, we collect the relevant Feynman rules and other technical details.