Title: Electroweak-charged bound states as LHC probes of hidden forces

Abstract

We explore the LHC reach on beyond-the-standard model (BSM) particles X associated with a new strong force in a hidden sector. We focus on the motivated scenario where the SM and hidden sectors are connected by fermionic mediators ψþ;0 that carry SM electroweak charges. The most promising signal is the Drell-Yan production of a ψ^±ψ-0 pair, which forms an electrically charged vector bound state Υ^± due to the hidden force and later undergoes resonant annihilation into W±X. We analyze this final state in detail in the cases where X is a real scalar Φ that decays to $$b\bar{b}$$, or a dark photon γ_d that decays to dileptons. For prompt X decays, we show that the corresponding signatures can be efficiently probed by extending the existing ATLAS and CMS diboson searches to include heavy resonance decays into BSM particles. For long-lived X, we propose new searches where the requirement of a prompt hard lepton originating from the W boson ensures triggering and essentially removes any SM backgrounds. To illustrate the potential of our results, we interpret them within two explicit models that contain strong hidden forces and electroweakcharged mediators, namely λ-supersymmetry (SUSY) and non-SUSY ultraviolet extensions of the twin Higgs model. The resonant nature of the signals allows for the reconstruction of the mass of both Υ^± and X, thus providing a wealth of information about the hidden sector.

Authors:

Li, Lingfeng; Salvioni, Ennio; Tsai, Yuhsin; Zheng, Rui

Publication Date:

2018-01-19

Research Org.:

Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI Identifier:

1417529

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1505828

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC000999; SC0009999

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Physical Review D

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Physical Review D Journal Volume: 97 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0010

Publisher:

American Physical Society (APS)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS