Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · hep-ex/0110022

A search for GMSB sleptons with lifetime at ALEPH

Luke Jones
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

A search for slepton production via the decay of pair-produced neutralinos has been performed under the assumption that the sleptons have observable lifetime in the detector before each decays to a lepton and a gravitino. Sleptons, neutralinos and gravitinos are particles predicted by the theory of supersymmetry, and are the supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model leptons, neutral bosons and of the graviton respectively. The search was performed in 628 inverse picobarns of data taken by the ALEPH detector at LEP centre-of-mass energies from 189 to 208 GeV. It was motivated by general predictions of Gauge-Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking (GMSB) models in which the lightest supersymmetric particle is always the gravitino. No evidence of the process was found. Model-independent cross-section limits are quoted as a function of neutralino mass, slepton mass and slepton lifetime in the case that the neutralino branching ratios to each slepton are equal at one third (the so-called slepton co-NLSP scenario, where NLSP stands for `Next-to-Lightest Supersymmetric Particle') and in the case that the neutralino decays exclusively to the stau (the stau-NLSP scenario). Excluded regions in the neutralino-stau mass plane are shown for four gravitino masses under model-specific assumptions.

Explore related subjects

hep-ex

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Luke Jones. 2002-03-22. A search for GMSB sleptons with lifetime at ALEPH. https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ex/0110022

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Feasibility Study of $e^+e^-\to η_cJ/ψ$ Production and Fully-Charmed Tetraquark Searches at STCF

The proposed high-luminosity Super Tau-Charm Facility (STCF) offers a clean experimental environment for threshold studies of exotic hadrons. In this Letter, we evaluate the expected significance for the fully-charmed vector tetraquark candidate $T_{4c}$ in the $e^+e^- \to η_c J/ψ$ channel at the STCF. Using Monte Carlo simulations of an energy scan from $\sqrt{s}=6.71$ to $6.79~\mathrm{GeV}$ with $100~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ per point, we adopt a high-efficiency single-tag (ST) reconstruction of $J/ψ$ leptonic decays as the primary strategy, with a double-tag (DT) reconstruction of $η_c \to K^+K^-π^0$ retained as an independent cross-check. Because the signal cross section is governed by the still-uncertain dielectron width $Γ_{ee}$, we consider three benchmark hypotheses, $Γ_{ee}=0.25, 0.5, 1~\mathrm{eV}$. The corresponding expected ST significances are $5.1\,σ$, $10.6\,σ$, and $20.5\,σ$, respectively. These results indicate that the STCF can provide meaningful sensitivity to fully-charmed tetraquark states near threshold.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2026

From Hits to Tracks: A BERT-based Tracking Model for Track Reconstruction in Drift Chambers

Track reconstruction in drift chambers is essential for momentum measurement and particle identification at electron-positron colliders. While Transformer architectures have transformed many sequence-processing domains, their application to tracking in high energy physics is still being explored. We present a model that combines a BERT encoder with a Transformer decoder to perform hit-to-track association through autoregressive sorting. The model is evaluated on the DCTracks open dataset that provides realistic drift chamber simulations with varying particle types, momenta, track multiplicities, and noise conditions. Across single-track, two-track, and multi-track samples, the model achieves high hit and track efficiencies while keeping the rates of clones and fakes very low. It also works well in the reconstruction of displaced vertices. These results show BERT-based sequence-to-sequence models as a promising approach for track reconstruction in low-background, precision-oriented experiments.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2026

Lowest-radiation environments in the Solar System: New opportunities for underground rare-event searches

We study neutrino, muon, and gamma-ray fluxes in extraterrestrial environments in our Solar System via semi-analytical estimates and Monte Carlo simulations. In sites with negligible atmosphere, we find a strong reduction in the cosmic-ray-induced neutrino and muon fluxes relative to their intensities on Earth. Neutrinos with energies between 50~MeV and 100~TeV show particularly strong suppression, by as much as 10$^3$, even at shallow depths. The solar neutrino suppression increases as the square of the site's distance from the Sun. Natural radiation due to nuclear decay is also expected to be lower in many of these locations and may be reduced to effectively negligible levels in liquid water environments. The sites satisfying these characteristics represent an opportunity for greatly extending the physics reach of underground searches in fundamental physics, such as searches for WIMP Dark Matter, neutrinoless double-beta decay, the diffuse supernova neutrinos, and neutrinos from nearby supernova. As a potential near-term target, we propose a measurement of muon and gamma-ray fluxes in an accessible underground lunar site such as the Mare Tranquillitatis Pit to perform a first measurement of the prompt component in cosmic-ray-induced particle production, and to constrain lunar evolution models. Although the focus of this work is on fundamental physics, the finding of this work -- that the existence of an atmosphere in a planet enhances cosmic-ray-induced radiation in its underground -- could be relevant for a broader range of sciences, such as radiobiology deep underground and searches for extraterrestrial life.

hep-ex↗