van Beekveld, M., Beenakker, W., Caron, S., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2016). The case for 100 GeV bino dark matter: a dedicated LHC tri-lepton search. J. High Energy Phys., 04(4), 154–26pp.
Abstract: Global fit studies performed in the pMSSM and the photon excess signal originating from the Galactic Center seem to suggest compressed electroweak supersymmetric spectra with a similar to 100 GeV bino-like dark matter particle. We find that these scenarios are not probed by traditional electroweak supersymmetry searches at the LHC. We propose to extend the ATLAS and CMS electroweak supersymmetry searches with an improved strategy for bino-like dark matter, focusing on chargino plus next-to-lightest neutralino production, with a subsequent decay into a tri-lepton final state. We explore the sensitivity for pMSSM scenarios with Delta m = m(NLSP) – m(LSF) similar to(5 – 50) GeV in the root s = 14 TeV run of the LHC. Counterintuitively, we find that the requirement of low missing transverse energy increases the sensitivity compared to the current ATLAS and CMS searches. With 300 fb(-1) of data we expect the LHC experiments to be able to discover these supersymmetric spectra with mass gaps down to Am 9 GeV for DM masses between 40 and 140 GeV. We stress the importance of a dedicated search strategy that targets precisely these favored pMSSM spectra.
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van Beekveld, M., Caron, S., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2020). The current status of fine-tuning in supersymmetry. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 147–41pp.
Abstract: In this paper, we minimize and compare two different fine-tuning measures in four high-scale supersymmetric models that are embedded in the MSSM. In addition, we determine the impact of current and future dark matter direct detection and collider experiments on the fine-tuning. We then compare the low-scale electroweak measure with the high-scale Barbieri-Giudice measure. We find that they reduce to the same value when the higgsino parameter drives the degree of fine-tuning. We also find spectra where the high-scale measure turns out to be lower than the low-scale measure. Depending on the high-scale model and fine-tuning definition, we find a minimal fine-tuning of 3-38 (corresponding to O(10-1)%) for the low-scale measure, and 63-571 (corresponding to O(1-0.1)%) for the high-scale measure. We stress that it is too early to conclude on the fate of supersymmetry, based only on the fine-tuning paradigm.
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Esteves, J. N., Romao, J. C., Hirsch, M., Porod, W., Staub, F., & Vicente, A. (2012). Dark matter and LHC phenomenology in a left-right supersymmetric model. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 095–33pp.
Abstract: Left-right symmetric extensions of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model can explain neutrino data and have potentially interesting phenomenology beyond that found in minimal SUSY seesaw models. Here we study a SUSY model in which the left-right symmetry is broken by triplets at a high scale, but significantly below the GUT scale. Sparticle spectra in this model differ from the usual constrained MSSM expectations and these changes affect the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino. We discuss changes for the standard stau (and stop) co-annihilation, the Higgs funnel and the focus point regions. The model has potentially large lepton flavour violation in both, left and right, scalar leptons and thus allows, in principle, also for flavoured co-annihilation. We also discuss lepton flavour signals due to violating decays of the second lightest neutralino at the LHC, which can be as large as 20 fb(-1) at root s = 14 TeV.
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Balazs, C. et al, Mamuzic, J., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2021). A comparison of optimisation algorithms for high-dimensional particle and astrophysics applications. J. High Energy Phys., 05(5), 108–46pp.
Abstract: Optimisation problems are ubiquitous in particle and astrophysics, and involve locating the optimum of a complicated function of many parameters that may be computationally expensive to evaluate. We describe a number of global optimisation algorithms that are not yet widely used in particle astrophysics, benchmark them against random sampling and existing techniques, and perform a detailed comparison of their performance on a range of test functions. These include four analytic test functions of varying dimensionality, and a realistic example derived from a recent global fit of weak-scale supersymmetry. Although the best algorithm to use depends on the function being investigated, we are able to present general conclusions about the relative merits of random sampling, Differential Evolution, Particle Swarm Optimisation, the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy, Bayesian Optimisation, Grey Wolf Optimisation, and the PyGMO Artificial Bee Colony, Gaussian Particle Filter and Adaptive Memory Programming for Global Optimisation algorithms.
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Feroz, F., Cranmer, K., Hobson, M., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Trotta, R. (2011). Challenges of profile likelihood evaluation in multi-dimensional SUSY scans. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 042–23pp.
Abstract: Statistical inference of the fundamental parameters of supersymmetric theories is a challenging and active endeavor. Several sophisticated algorithms have been employed to this end. While Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and nested sampling techniques are geared towards Bayesian inference, they have also been used to estimate frequentist confidence intervals based on the profile likelihood ratio. We investigate the performance and appropriate configuration of MULTINEST, a nested sampling based algorithm, when used for profile likelihood-based analyses both on toy models and on the parameter space of the Constrained MSSM. We find that while the standard configuration previously used in the literarture is appropriate for an accurate reconstruction of the Bayesian posterior, the profile likelihood is poorly approximated. We identify a more appropriate MULTINEST configuration for profile likelihood analyses, which gives an excellent exploration of the profile likelihood (albeit at a larger computational cost), including the identification of the global maximum likelihood value. We conclude that with the appropriate configuration MULTINEST is a suitable tool for profile likelihood studies, indicating previous claims to the contrary are not well founded.
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Chala, M., Delgado, A., Nardini, G., & Quiros, M. (2017). A light sneutrino rescues the light stop. J. High Energy Phys., 04(4), 097–22pp.
Abstract: Stop searches in supersymmetric frameworks with R-parity conservation usually assume the lightest neutralino to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. In this paper we consider an alternative scenario in which the left-handed tau sneutrino is lighter than neutralinos and stable at collider scales, but possibly unstable at cosmological scales. Moreover the (mostly right-handed) stop (t) over tilde is lighter than all electroweakinos, and heavier than the scalars of the third generation lepton doublet, whose charged component, (T) over tilde, is heavier than the neutral one, (v) over tilde. The remaining supersymmetric particles are decoupled from the stop phenomenology. In most of the parameter space, the relevant stop decays are only into t (T) over tildeT, t (v) over tildev and b (v) over tildeT via off-shell electroweakinos. We constrain the branching ratios of these decays by recasting the most sensitive stop searches. Due to the “double invisible” kinematics of the (t) over tilde -> t (v) over tildev process, and the low efficiency in tagging the t (T) over tildeT decay products, light stops are generically allowed. In the minimal supersymmetric standard model with similar to 100 GeV sneutrinos, stops with masses as small as similar to 350 GeV turn out to be allowed at 95% CL.
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Hirsch, M., Reichert, L., & Porod, W. (2011). Supersymmetric mass spectra and the seesaw scale. J. High Energy Phys., 05(5), 086–32pp.
Abstract: Supersymmetric mass spectra within two variants of the seesaw mechanism, commonly known as type-II and type-III seesaw, are calculated using full 2-loop RGEs and minimal Supergravity boundary conditions. The type-II seesaw is realized using one pair of 15 and (15) over bar superfields, while the type-III is realized using three copies of 24(M) superfields. Using published, estimated errors on SUSY mass observables attainable at the LHC and in a combined LHC+ILC analysis, we calculate expected errors for the parameters of the models, most notably the seesaw scale. If SUSY particles are within the reach of the ILC, pure mSugra can be distinguished from mSugra plus type-II or type-III seesaw for nearly all relevant values of the seesaw scale. Even in the case when only the much less accurate LHC measurements are used, we find that indications for the seesaw can be found in favourable parts of the parameter space. Since our conclusions crucially depend on the reliability of the theoretically forecasted error bars, we discuss in some detail the accuracies which need to be achieved for the most important LHC and ILC observables before an analysis, such as the one presented here, can find any hints for type-II or type-III seesaw in SUSY spectra.
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Ghosh, P., Lopez-Fogliani, D. E., Mitsou, V. A., Muñoz, C., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2014). Probing the μnu SSM with light scalars, pseudoscalars and neutralinos from the decay of a SM-like Higgs boson at the LHC. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 102–57pp.
Abstract: The “mu from nu” supersymmetric standard model (mu nu SSM) can accommodate the newly discovered Higgs-like scalar boson with a mass around 125GeV. This model provides a solution to the mu-problem and simultaneously reproduces correct neutrino physics by the simple use of right-handed neutrino superfields. These new superfields together with the introduced R-parity violation can produce novel and characteristic signatures of the μnu SSM at the LHC. We explore the signatures produced through two-body Higgs decays into the new states, provided that these states lie below in the mass spectrum. For example, a pair produced light neutralinos depending on the associated decay length can give rise to displaced multi-leptons/taus/jets/photons with small/moderate missing transverse energy. In the same spirit, a Higgs-like scalar decaying to a pair of scalars/pseudoscalars can produce final states with prompt multi-leptons/taus/jets/photons.
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van Beekveld, M., Caron, S., Hendriks, L., Jackson, P., Leinweber, A., Otten, S., et al. (2021). Combining outlier analysis algorithms to identify new physics at the LHC. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 024–33pp.
Abstract: The lack of evidence for new physics at the Large Hadron Collider so far has prompted the development of model-independent search techniques. In this study, we compare the anomaly scores of a variety of anomaly detection techniques: an isolation forest, a Gaussian mixture model, a static autoencoder, and a beta-variational autoencoder (VAE), where we define the reconstruction loss of the latter as a weighted combination of regression and classification terms. We apply these algorithms to the 4-vectors of simulated LHC data, but also investigate the performance when the non-VAE algorithms are applied to the latent space variables created by the VAE. In addition, we assess the performance when the anomaly scores of these algorithms are combined in various ways. Using supersymmetric benchmark points, we find that the logical AND combination of the anomaly scores yielded from algorithms trained in the latent space of the VAE is the most effective discriminator of all methods tested.
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Bach, M., Park, J. H., Stockinger, D., & Stockinger-Kim, H. (2015). Large muon (g-2) with TeV-scale SUSY masses for tan beta -> infinity. J. High Energy Phys., 10(10), 026–27pp.
Abstract: The muon anomalous magnetic moment a(mu) is investigated in the MSSM for tan beta -> infinity. This is an attractive example of radiative muon mass generation with completely different qualitative parameter dependence compared to the MSSM with the usual, finite tan beta. The observed, positive difference between the experimental and Standard Model values can only be explained if there are mass splittings, such that bino contributions dominate over wino ones. The two most promising cases are characterized either by large Higgsino mass μor by large left-handed smuon mass m(L). The required mass splittings and the resulting a(mu)(SUSY) are studied in detail. It is shown that the current discrepancy in a(mu) can be explained even in cases where all SUSY masses are at the TeV scale. The paper also presents useful analytical formulas, approximations for limiting cases, and benchmark points.
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