Review of searches for vector-like quarks, vector-like leptons, and heavy neutral leptons in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the CMS experiment

TL;DR

This paper reviews CMS experiment searches at 13 TeV for new heavy fermions like vector-like quarks and leptons, discussing current results, search complementarity, and future discovery potential at the High-Luminosity LHC.

Contribution

It summarizes recent experimental searches for vector-like quarks, leptons, and heavy neutral leptons, highlighting their complementarity and potential for discovery.

Findings

Current searches set limits on new fermion masses.

Combined analyses improve sensitivity to new particles.

Future prospects at the High-Luminosity LHC are promising.

Abstract

The LHC has provided an unprecedented amount of proton-proton collision data, bringing forth exciting opportunities to address fundamental open questions in particle physics. These questions can potentially be answered by performing searches for very rare processes predicted by models that attempt to extend the standard model of particle physics. The data collected by the CMS experiment in 2015-2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV can be used to test the standard model with high precision and potentially uncover evidence for new particles or interactions. An interesting possibility is the existence of new fermions with masses ranging from the MeV to the TeV scale. Such new particles appear in many possible extensions of the standard model and are well motivated theoretically. New fermions may explain the appearance of three generations of leptons and quarks, the mass hierarchy across the generations, and the nonzero neutrino masses. In this report, the results of searches targeting vector-like quarks, vector-like leptons, and heavy neutral leptons at the CMS experiment are summarized. The complementarity of current searches for each type of new fermion is discussed, and combinations of several searches for vector-like quarks are presented. The discovery potential for some of these searches at the High-Luminosity LHC is also discussed.