Search for New Physics Using High Mass Tau Pairs from 1.96-TeV Proton-Antiproton Collisions

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for new physics phenomena through high mass tau lepton pairs in proton-antiproton collisions, setting limits on hypothetical heavy particles decaying to tau pairs.

Contribution

First search for anomalous tau pair production at high mass using the CDF II detector, providing constraints on new heavy scalar and vector particles.

Findings

Observed 4 events against an expected 2.8±0.5 from background.

Set limits on production cross sections of new heavy particles.

Demonstrated the feasibility of tau pair searches at high mass.

Abstract

We present the results of a search for anomalous resonant production of tau lepton pairs with large invariant mass, the first such search using the CDF II Detector in Run II of the Tevatron $p\bar{p}$ collider. Such anomalous production could arise from various new physics processes. In a data sample corresponding to 195 pb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity we predict 2.8$\pm$0.5 events from Standard Model background processes and observe 4. We use this result to set limits on the production of heavy scalar and vector particles decaying to tau lepton pairs.