Search for supersymmetry in final states with two or three soft leptons and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for supersymmetric particles in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV, focusing on events with low-momentum leptons and missing transverse momentum, setting new exclusion limits on various supersymmetric models.

Contribution

First search targeting low-momentum leptons in supersymmetry, providing new exclusion limits on electroweakinos and top squarks using CMS data from 2016-2018.

Findings

No significant deviation from the standard model observed.

Excluded electroweakino masses up to 275 GeV for small mass differences.

Excluded top squark masses up to 540 GeV for specific decay modes.

Abstract

A search for supersymmetry in events with two or three low-momentum leptons and missing transverse momentum is performed. The search uses proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV collected in the three-year period 2016-2018 by the CMS experiment at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 137 fb$^{-1}$. The data are found to be in agreement with expectations from standard model processes. The results are interpreted in terms of electroweakino and top squark pair production with a small mass difference between the produced supersymmetric particles and the lightest neutralino. For the electroweakino interpretation, two simplified models are used, a wino-bino model and a higgsino model. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on $\widetilde{\chi}^0_2 / \widetilde{\chi}^\pm_1$ masses up to 275 GeV for a mass difference of 10 GeV in the wino-bino case, and up to 205 (150) GeV for a mass difference of 7.5 (3) GeV in the higgsino case. The results for the higgsino are further interpreted using a phenomenological minimal supersymmetric standard model, excluding the higgsino mass parameter $\mu$ up to 180 GeV with the bino mass parameter $M_1$ at 800 GeV. In the top squark interpretation, exclusion limits are set at top squark masses up to 540 GeV for four-body top squark decays and up to 480 GeV for chargino-mediated decays with a mass difference of 30 GeV.